A whale watching company says one of its ships made contact with a humpback whale that “suddenly and unexpectedly appeared” in its path while transiting near Vancouver on Thursday afternoon.
A statement from the Prince of Whales company said its vessel made a “decisive” maneuver to avoid the animal. He was able to stop almost immediately, but “there was minimal contact with the whale” during the maneuver.
“We were not actively observing the whale, so it was a surprise encounter,” the statement read.
He went on to say that several passengers aboard the ship fell as it attempted to stop suddenly and “some were injured.”
BC Emergency Health Services said paramedics provided emergency medical treatment to four patients on Granville Island. They were taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Whale seen later: DFO
Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) said it received a report from a whale watching vessel of a collision with a humpback whale in Howe Sound on Thursday.
The whale was seen surfacing three times after the collision, the DFO said in a statement.
He went on to say that they have not confirmed the identity of the whale and that the company is cooperating fully.
The incident comes after a ship owned by a passenger-only high-speed ferry service between Vancouver and Nanaimo struck a humpback whale near Vancouver in English Bay earlier this month, according to DFO.
A humpback calf with a deep cut near its dorsal fin was later identified as the whale that was struck.
Whales vulnerable to attack
Last month, researchers found a dead humpback near a site where it was allegedly struck by a BC Ferries ship off BC’s north coast.
DFO said humpback whales are particularly vulnerable to ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.
“The likelihood and lethality of a ship strike depends on factors such as whale density, ship traffic, as well as the size and speed of the ships,” the DFO statement said.
In recent years, humpback whale numbers in the southern Salish Sea have been highest in the fall, with an estimated 416 individual whales using Canadian waters between Vancouver and the western end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, he continued.
“In October, the southern Strait of Georgia off Vancouver is one of the highest density areas for whales,” he said. “This is also an area with multiple ferry routes and significant whale watching activity.”
DFO says it has alerted its law enforcement agents and the Pacific Whale Watching Association to be on the lookout for injured animals as severe weather and high winds are expected over the weekend.
