2022 was record year for whale sightings in Salish Sea
The Pacific Whale Watch Association says 2022 was a record year for whale sightings in the Pacific Northwest, specifically of transient orca and humpbacks.
The news comes after 2021 was noted as a great year for whale sightings in Puget Sound.
Four hundred humpback whales were photographed in the Salish Sea last year. That's the largest number recorded in at least the past century, according to the Canadian Pacific Humpback Collaboration.
Orca also showed up in record numbers. The Orca Behavior Institute reported more than 1,200 sightings, which is double the number recorded in 2017.
Researchers say increased seal, sea lion, and porpoise populations are attracting more orca (aka Biggs killer whales) to the Salish Sea. They, unlike the southern resident orcas, feed on marine mammals.
When it comes to the endangered southern resident orcas, researchers tell KING 5 News that they were spotted in the Salish Sea about 60 days more than in the past, in 2022.
Researchers credit the 1972 Marine Mammals Protection Act and the implementation of whale watching and noise restrictions for the increased sightings.
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