How the return of humpback whales to Canada’s Salish Sea is boosting tourism and conservation

In the frigid waters of Canada’s Salish Sea, close to the mouth of Bute Inlet, a female humpback whale and her calf point their knobbly flippers skyward in perfect synchronicity, before slowly sliding below the surface.

Closer to the shoreline another humpback exhales air and slaps the water with its huge tail flukes, sending a plume of spray high into the air. Here, in the coastal waters off British Columbia, a long summer of undisturbed feeding means these iconic cetaceans have more than enough energy to put on a captivating show.

Bradden Kiley, a tour guide with Campbell River Whale Watching and Adventure Tours, waits for the mother and calf to dive before heading the Zodiac inflatable for home, its passengers thrilled with the day’s close encounters. Humpbacks are a favourite of whale watchers and sightings in the area have never been so good.

“I’ve never seen as many humpbacks as I have in 2021,” says Kiley, an Australian. “A few years ago you’d be lucky to see one on a tour, so it’s a great sign to see them returning. The so-called humpback comeback currently taking place in the Salish Sea is good for business, of course. But more than that, it’s a sign that the entire marine ecosystem here is more in balance. These mammals are a critical part of the food chain.”

Although millions of people live beside it, the Salish Sea remains a relatively unknown entity. Stretching from the city of Olympia, in the American state of Washington, in the south, to Campbell River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia, in the north, it is an area of spectacular natural beauty and biologically diverse marine waters, and has a rich cultural history.

The sea’s name refers to the Coast Salish indigenous peoples (First Nations), who have lived in the area for thousands of years and share a common linguistic and cultural origin.