The grey whale spouts off water in the Courtenay River in the river mouth on the morning of Dec 19, 2018. Photo by James Wood/98.9 The Goat/Vista Radio/MyComoxValleyNow
A grey whale has been seen swimming in the Courtenay River.
According to 98.9 The Goat, the whale was swimming in the estuary of the river near the Courtenay Airpark floatplane ramp at around 9:50 a.m. Wednesday morning. Throughout the day, residents went down to see the whale and several reported it was swimming up and down in the estuary.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) said officers have confirmed the whale was a grey whale and they are in the area to check out the situation.
The grey whale is a medium to large baleen whale and the only species still in existence in the Eschrichtiidae. In the North Pacific, Grey Whale fossils date back at least 50,000 years before present. Grey whales occur in two distinct populations, the western and eastern North Pacific. The western North Pacific population is estimated at only 100 individuals who migrate between winter breeding grounds off southern China, to summer feeding grounds in the Sea of Okhotsk.
The eastern North Pacific population occurs in Canadian waters and the current size is about 20,000 whales.
The population’s wintering and breeding grounds are along the west coast of Baja California, Mexico, in a series of shallow lagoons.
The peak of its southbound migration is in late December and early January. Between February and May, the grey whales go north, usually within a few kilometres from shore. During the summer, most whales feed in the shallow waters of the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas.
A few hundred animals, called the summer-resident community, feeds in temperate waters from California to southeastern Alaska, including near-shore waters in B.C.
The eastern North Pacific grey whale population is listed as a species of special concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada and is also under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA).
This is not the first time this year that a whale has piqued the curiosity of Comox Valley residents. This summer, a lone transient killer whale moved into the Comox Harbour before it was lured out when DFO officers played recorded sounds of other orcas.
The grey whale spouts off water in the Courtenay River in the river mouth on the morning of Dec. 19, 2018. Photo by James Wood/98.9 The Goat/Vista Radio/MyComoxValleyNow
The grey whale spouts off water in the Courtenay River in the river mouth on the morning of Dec. 19, 2018. Photo by James Wood/98.9 The Goat/Vista Radio/MyComoxValleyNow
The grey whale spouts off water in the Courtenay River in the river mouth on the morning of Dec 19, 2018. Photo by James Wood/98.9 The Goat/Vista Radio/MyComoxValleyNow
With files from James Wood and Troy Landreville, My Comox Valley Now and Vista Radio.
CHEK News
