First humpback whale of the season spotted off Nanaimo, B.C.

The first humpback whale of the season has made its grand entrance in the Strait of Georgia.

A Vancouver Island whale-watching company spotted the first humpback whale of the season off Nanaimo’s Departure Bay on Monday.

“We know that it migrated, because it has some cookie-cutter marks on it, which are only found in the tropical regions,” says Val Watson, office manager with Vancouver Island Whale Watch.

Hundreds of humpbacks come to the Vancouver Island region to feed during the summer while others continue their journey north.

“Some people think when they’re seeing them, they’re just kind of heading through here on their way to somewhere else,” says Christie McMillan, a biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

“That’s kind of a bit of a misconception.”

Most of the humpbacks whale-watchers see from the island are the ones that stay for the summer and into the fall.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada estimates roughly 400 humpbacks come to feed in the southern part of Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland.

“Risks like getting hit by boats or getting entangled in fishing gear do increase,” says McMillan.

Recent research by the DFO has shown a significant amount of humpback whales have been scarred from entanglements.

“At least 47 per cent – almost half – of the humpback whales that we see off the coast here have survived at least one entanglement in the past,” says McMillan.

The DFO says people on the water need to stay at least 100 metres away from the mammals.

“The first thing you’ll see is its blow or its breath above the surface,” McMillan says.

Whale entanglements or vessel strikes can be reported to 1-800-465-4336.