South Vancouver Island

Location

Coast of Southern Vancouver Island, Gulf Islands, southern Georgia Strait (and extending into US Puget Sound).

ICA Criteria

#1) Endangered, threatened or vulnerable species
#2) Feeding concentration
#5) Species diversity

Synopsis

This area is the home territory and prime feeding ground of Southern Resident killer whales that range between Canadian and US (Puget Sound) waters.

Portions of this ICA, particularly Boundary Bay, are important as seasonal feeding grounds to small but consistent (over decades) numbers of gray whales. This location is adjacent to the large urban area of lower mainland.

The presence of humpback whales feeding in this area has increased over the last decade. This area is also regularly used by minke whales, harbor porpoise and Dall’s porpoise.

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Key Species

Status
Canada (SARA) USA (ESA)
Southern Resident killer whales Endangered Endangered
Gray whales Special Concern None
Humpback whales Threatened Endangered

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Jim Maya

Jim Maya

Jim Maya

Rob Butler

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References

Published Papers and Books

Bigg, M.A. 1982. An assessment of killer whale (Orcinus orca) stocks off Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Rep. Int. Whaling Comm., 32: 655–666 .

Bigg, M.A., Olesiuk P.F., Ellis G.M., Ford J.K.B., and Balcomb K.C. III. 1990. Social organization and genealogy of resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the coastal waters of British Columbia and Washington State. Rep. Int. Whaling Comm. 12(Spec. Issue): 383–405.

Darling, J.D., Keogh, K.E., and Steeves, T.M. 1998. Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) habitat utilization and prey species off Vancouver Island, B.C. Marine Mammal Science, 14(4):692-720

Ford, J.K.B., and Fisher, H.D. 1982. Killer whale (Orcinus orca) dialects as an indicator of stocks in British Columbia. Rep. Int. Whaling Comm. 32:671–679.

Ford, J.K.B. 1989. Acoustic behaviour of resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) off Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Can. J. Zool. 67: 727-745.

Ford, J.K.B. 1991. Vocal traditions among resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in coastal waters of British Columbia. Can. J. Zool. 69: 1454-1483.

Ford, J.K.B., Ellis, G.M, and Balcomb, K.C. 2000. Killer whales: the natural history and genealogy of Orcinus orca in the waters of British Columbia and Washington. UBC Press, Vancouver, BC, and University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA.

Olesiuk, P.F., Bigg, M.A., and Ellis, G.M. 1990. Life history and population dynamics of resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the coastal waters of British Columbia and Washington State. Rep. Int. Whal. Commn. Special Issue 12: 209-242.

Technical Reports

Bigg, M.A., MacAskie, I.B., and Ellis, G. 1976. Abundance and movements of killer whales off eastern and southern Vancouver Island with comments on management. Arctic Biological Station, Canadian Dept. of Fisheries and Environment, Ste Anne-de-Bellevue, QC.

Butler, R.W. and R. S. MacVicar. 2013. Field Observations of Gray Whales in Boundary Bay, British Columbia, 1991-2012. Pacific WildLife Foundation Technical Report Number 2 (on line at www.pwlf.org)

Davidson, P., Butler, R.W. Couturier, A., Marquez, S., and LePage, D. 2010. Status and Distribution of Marine Birds and Mammals in the Southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia. Pacific Wildlife Foundation, Port Moody, B.C.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2008. Recovery strategy for the northern and southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Canada. Species at Risk Act Recovery Strategy Series. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ottawa. 81pp.

Ford, J.K.B. 2006. An assessment of critical habitats of resident killer whales in waters off the Pacific coast of Canada. Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2006/072.

Helbig, R. 1985. Gray Whales in Boundary Bay 1980-1985. Unpublished Report. Available Pacific Wildlife Foundation, Port Moody BC. 9 pp.

Olesiuk, P.F., Ellis, G.M., and Ford, J.K.B. 2005. Life history and population dynamics of northern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in British Columbia. DFO Can. Sci. Advis. Sec. Res. Doc. 2005/045.

Websites

Humpback Whale information

Resident Killer Whale Catalog