Humpbacks in Howe Sound

A photo by Burns Jennings of a whale that surfaced near his boat in Seymour Bay in 2022. I’m on the shore in front of a garage door, watching through my binoculars.

Back in 2005, my friend Pauline Le Bel wrote a musical about the history of Bowen Island, starting with the Big Bang and coming up tot the present day. I was watching the video of the performance today and was struck by the scene where the protagonist, Duncan, learns about how Átl’ka7tsem/Howe Sound used to be home to 100 humpback whales. The narrator Raiva tells him that the last whale was killed in 1908 and their voice hadn’t been heard in the Sound since.

Back in 2005 this was pretty true. Humpbacks hadn’t visited our inlet since the last one was killed in 1908. But in 2008, when they returned. My friend Bob Turner made a video about this remarkable turnaround.

By 2022, there were 396 humpbacks in the Salish Sea, and the population has continued growing. Now baby humpbacks come with their mothers to spend the summers here, making this region their permanent home. When I asked Bob what was responsible for the remarkable comeback he said, “well, food of course, but mostly it’s amazing what happens when you just stop killing them.”

Watching Pauline’s performance made me remember that in 2005 we had no idea if this would happen. I remember thinking that if I could just see humpbacks back in the inlet in my lifetime I’d be a happy man. Three years later the first one returned. These days, once they return from their winter breeding grounds, they are almost impossible to miss.

A little hope-core for a rainy March Monday.