After the Breach Podcast

Sub-Antarctic "type D" killer whales are a very distinctive and rarely encountered ecotype of orcas found in the offshore waters of the Southern Ocean. Jared Towers, director of Bay Cetology, joins us in this episode to discuss his fascinating encounter with a group of "type D" killer whales and a recently published paper, “Type D” killer whale genomes reveal long-term small population size and low genetic diversity.   
 
Before jumping into the discussion about his adventures to find "type D" killer whales, Jared and Jeff tell a story about a humpback whale mom and fresh newborn calf, maybe only hours old, they encountered offshore of Baja this winter on their charter with Apparent Winds. Jeff forgot to tell this story in episode 11, and since Jeff and Jared were there for the encounter this winter, they wanted to share this unique experience.
 
We then talk to Jared about his background, growing up in Alert Bay, BC, where he lives currently working with Bay Cetology as well as other organizations. After talking a bit about Bay Cetology and some of Jared's other encounters, he tells us about the challenges in finding "type D" killer whales and the conditions he had to endure in a 75 foot sail boat in the Southern Ocean.
 
Their persistence paid off and Jared recounts the story of how they came across a group of approximately 30 very curious "type D's" as the whales checked out the boat and the line of hydrophones and GoPros being towed behind. They were able to get the first fresh tissue biopsy samples so they could see how they compare to all other Southern Hemisphere killer whales. 
 
Jared talks about the 3 individuals biopsied, a mother and 2 probable full siblings. We talk with Jared about the paper, the ecotype's low genetic diversity and the bottleneck they experienced in the past. Jared points out and discusses that in spite of their challenges, they have found a way to become wide spread and perhaps abundant compared to other inbred populations. 
 
We conclude the episode discussing recent sightings in the Salish Sea. Sara and Jeff are running tours daily with Maya's Legacy Whale Watching and highlight some recent encounters with large groups of Bigg's killer whales, including the iconic T63, Chainsaw. 
 
If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please follow/subscribe, leave us feedback/reviews and share with your friends! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.
For complete show notes, links and photos, please visit our website: https://www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/episode-12-type-d-killer-whales
 
Links mentioned in this episode:
Bay Cetology: https://baycetology.org
Bay Cetology Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/baycetology
Cetacean Sessions: https://www.crowdcast.io/@cetacean-sessions
https://www.crowdcast.io/@cetacean-sessions
Apparent Winds: https://apparentwinds.org
“Type D” killer whale genomes reveal long-term small population size and low genetic diversity: https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/114/2/94/7086686?
 
Video & photos mentioned in this episode:
 
 
Type D Killer Whale. Photo by Jared Towers
 
T063, Chainsaw. Photo by Jeff Friedman
 
T063, Chainsaw, with T049A1, Noah. Photo by Jeff Friedman

We are back on San Juan Island after our winter offseason. People often ask us what we do during our offseason. We go whale watching in other parts of the world! Daven joins us on this episode as we share stories of our offseason whale adventures. Between the three of us we traveled to the Canadian Arctic, Eastern Pacific off Mexico and the Sea of Cortez, the Southern Ocean off Australia, the Sliver Bank off the Dominican Republic, and Antarctica. 
 
Daven starts off the by sharing stories from his experiences in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic, highlighted by encounters with Northern bottlenose whales, Belugas, and a fleeting view of Narwhals. He also talks about spending two months in Antarctica seeing multiple species of baleen whales as well as different types of Antarctic killer whales. 
 
Our stories continue with Sara's adventures to Bremer Bay, Australia with Naturaliste Charters to see the killer whales of Bremer Canyon. These are a recently discovered population of approximately 300 orcas that are thought to be related to Antarctic type A killer whales. They primarily prey on beaked whales but also eat a varied diet that includes squid and tuna. Sara shares her stories from spending a month on the water with these whales while she collected data for the Orca Behavior Institute. 
 
Next, Jeff talks a bit about his last minute travels around the Baja Peninsula to sail one of the breeding areas for North Pacific Humpback whales. He also talks about a friendly Gray whale encounter in Magdalena Bay and a visit to the Museo de la Ballena in La Paz. 
 
Finally, Jeff and Sara discuss their return to the Sliver Bank, the largest breeding area for North Atlantic Humpback whales, 75 miles offshore of the Dominican Republic. They share highlights from snorkeling with Humpback whales while out with Conscious Breath Adventures. For even more information on what it's like to experience the Silver Bank, you can listen to Episode 7. 
 
There are several common themes throughout our discussions, including the remote locations of many of these special, wild places and the sometimes uncomfortable conditions that you have to endure to get there. But the payoff is life changing as evidenced by us choosing activities like this every offseason in the San Juan Islands.
 
Speaking of the San Juan Islands, our season has started and we are seeing amazing wildlife and whales. If you would like to join us on a tour you can get details and book your trip with Maya's Legacy Whale Watching. 
 
If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please follow/subscribe, leave us feedback/reviews and share with your friends! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.
For complete show notes, links and photos, please visit our website: https://www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/our-offseason-whales-around-the-world/
 
Photos mentioned in this episode:
Photo by Daven Hafey
 
Photo by Daven Hafey
 
Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu
 
Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu
 
Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu
 
Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu
 
Photo by Jeff Friedman
 
 

The award-winning 2022 documentary Corky is the story of world’s longest-held captive orca, the changing public sentiment about orcas in captivity, and the rise of sea sanctuaries. Christine Caruso, the producer and director of Corky joins us to discuss the film.
Corky is a member of the Northern Resident killer whale community and was captured on December 11, 1969. We intentionally published this episode on the anniversary of her capture and highly recommend the film. The film is as powerful and emotional as Blackfish, but it is the personal story of Corky.
We talk briefly about the Northern Residents, their similarities and differences from the Southern Residents that we see here in the San Juan Islands. They are two distinct populations of salmon-eating orcas.
Christine’s shares her background as a kindergarten teacher and tells the story of how she went from learning about Corky to making this amazing film.  It was her passion for Corky that lead her to the right people and the right places at the right times. 
We then discuss some of the moments from the film, and Corky’s life, that stood out for each of us. 
Christine talks about her move from Marineland of the Pacific to SeaWorld. Her tankmate, Orky, also a Northern Resident, was being removed from their tank first. Christine talks about how Corky desperately tried to get into the sling with him, not wanting to be separated. Sara recounted Corky and Orky’s daily sunlight ceremony, how they marked where the sun would rise each morning and celebrated. You gotta see the film to really get the mysticism of this. Jeff recounted a pivotal life changing encounter with a Northern Resident, A61, and learned in the film that he is Corky’s cousin.
Christine then talks about her experience of watching the audience go through Corky’s journey at the screening at the Friday Harbor Film Festival in October. The film won 2 awards at it’s first film festival, the Audience Choice awards for Tales from the Heart and On Demand Best Feature.
We conclude our conversation with Christine by talking about Corky’s future and the hope that she will be retired to a sanctuary, under human care, in her home waters. As featured in the film, there is already an ideal site waiting for her. We talk about what that would be like for Corky, to be able to feel the tides, the kelp beds, and be in acoustic range of her community. See links below how people can get involved and where you can see the film. Please watch the film and share with your friends. Help us to help Corky share her story.
At the end of the episode we talk about recent sightings and some previews to our upcoming episodes, including Sara’s winter adventure to Australia to spend time with the Bremer Canyon killer whales and our upcoming trip with CBA to the Silver Bank.
If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please follow/subscribe, leave us feedback/reviews and share with your friends! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.
For complete show notes, links and photos, please visit our website: https://www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/episode-10-corky/
Links mentioned in this episode:
Corky documentary Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CorkyDocumentary
Double Bay Sanctuary: https://doublebaysanctuary.org/
Keiko the Untold Story: https://www.keikotheuntoldstory.com/
Listening to Whales: What the Orcas Have Taught Us, by Alexandra Morton: https://www.amazon.com/Listening-Whales-What-Orcas-Taught/dp/0345442881
OrcaLab: https://orcalab.org/
Bay Cetology: https://baycetology.org/
The Whale Sanctuary Project: https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/
Nonhuman Rights Project: https://www.nonhumanrights.org/
Photos
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Joining us as our guest, from Vancouver Island, is our friend Gary Sutton. Gary is a whale researcher with Ocean Wise Research and Bay Cetology. He is also a professional whale and wildlife guide. After recently returning from his field research season off northeast Vancouver Island and the central BC coast, Gary shares information about the focus of their research and tells some great stories about his time up there.The overarching goal of the research he is working on is to use photogrammetry to take photos and measure cranial fat deposits in Northern Resident killer whales and track changes over time to assess body condition and health. Gary talks about this research and what we can learn about whales using drones to take photos from above. As we do with all of our guests, we asked Gary to share some memorable encounters from his field season. Gary tells some great stories about seeing bubble-net feeding humpbacks and the first documented sighting of some famous California Bigg's killer whales in the inland waters of BC. We also discuss the latest sightings, including a new calf with the T37Bs and a rare winter Southern Resident killer whale superpod. We discuss how the Southern Residents are adapting to declines in their preferred prey availability and the changes we are seeing in their distribution and travel patterns.The episode concludes with an email from a listener in response to our discussions about humpbacks intervening in Bigg's killer whale predations on marine mammals. The email points out that hippos have been well documented to interrupt hunts on other animals as well. If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please follow/subscribe, leave us feedback/reviews and share with your friends! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.
For complete show notes, links and photos, please visit our website: https://www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/episode-0-orca-research-stories-latest-sightings/
 
Links mentioned in this episode:
Gary on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gary_j27/
Ocean Wise Research on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oceanwiseresearch/
Bay Cetology: https://baycetology.org/
Photos mentioned in this episode:
New calf with T37B. Photo by Jeff Friedman

On October 7, 2022 two families of Bigg's killer whales, the T065As and T099s, successfully hunted an adult Minke whale south of the San Juan Islands in Washington state. We were able to document the hunt as well as the hours long feeding behavior afterwards. Bigg's killer whales in the Salish Sea predominately prey on harbor seals, sea lions and porpoise.
This was an incredibly rare event to witness, and joining us as our guest to help tell the story of the minke takedown is friend and colleague, April Ryan. Along with Jeff and Sara, April is a captain and marine naturalist with Maya's Legacy Whale Watching in Friday Harbor. Truth be told we recorded episode 8 the night before the minke hunt. It was such a rare event that we had to reset and re-record. So the episode begins with part of the original recording where we discuss some recent sightings, including large aggregations of humpbacks. These aggregations are sometimes seen in the Salish Sea and can number between 50-100 whales. We also talk about some newly documented calves, including one Sara documented last week. 
After discussing the humpbacks April joins Sara and Jeff to recount the minke hunt. The minke whale was a known minke who we have seen on our tours. She was first documented in the Salish Sea in 1982, as an adult, making her approximately 50 years old. After this, we move on to answer some questions submitted by listeners about how we got here. How did we get into whale watching and find our way to San Juan Island. If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please follow/subscribe, leave us feedback/reviews and share with your friends! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.
For complete show notes, photos and links, please visit our website: https://www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/episode-8-orcas-take-a-minke-whale/
 
Video from the minke hunt: Links from this episode:
Rare clash between two humpbacks and group of orcas
Orcas Take Down Minke Whale
Tour boat stunned as orcas take down large minke whale in Juan de Fuca Strait
Photos from this episode:
Humpback whale "Caspian" Photo by Sara Shimazu.
 
Humpback whale "Caspian" Photo by Sara Shimazu.
 
TO65As and T099s hunting minke whale. Photo by April Ryan.
 
T065As and T099s hunting minke whale. Photo by April Ryan.
 
T065As and T099s hunting minke whale. Photo by April Ryan.
 
T065As and T099s hunting minke whale. Photo by April Ryan.

The Silver Bank is the largest breeding ground for North Atlantic humpback whales. Gene Flipse, owner and operator of Conscious Breath Adventures, joins us to discuss and share stories from one of our favorite whale experiences, swimming with humpback whales on the Silver Bank.
The episode begins with Sara and Jeff discussing the latest sightings from our whale watching tours with Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching from Friday Harbor, Washington. There have been a lot of Bigg’s killer whales in the area over the last few weeks, including a day with 54 killer whales in 11 different groups. We’ve been seeing examples of topics we discussed in episode 6, especially the fascinating social dynamics within matrilines in this population.
We highlight two families from our recent sightings. First, we discuss the 124A2’s and 124A4’s, two young sisters who have been recently been traveling together along with their kids, separately from their mom and other siblings.  We also discuss an interesting split in the iconic matriline, the T18s, with T19 and T19B traveling separately from T18 and T19C. We also give a quick update on the saga of T65A5. We conclude the latest sightings by describing an epic evening tour watching the T49As, T19 and T19B hunting a large Steller sea lion.
In the second half of the episode we talk with Gene Flipse, owner and operator of Conscious Breath Adventures, about one of the most amazing and life changing whale watching experiences we have had, seeing and swimming with humpback whales on the Silver Bank.
Our discussion provides background on the Silver Bank and Conscious Breath Adventures’ trips to see and swim with humpback whales on the Silver Bank.
The Sanctuary for the Marine Mammals of the Dominican Republic was first established in 1986 and has been successfully managed since then. Only three permits have been issued to commercial operators, making it so exclusive that less than 700 people visit the Silver Bank each year.
We discuss the details of Conscious Breath Adventures trips and how respectful, in water encounters unfold, along with the methodical process used before swimmers can enter the water. We talk about what successful in water interactions are like and how humbling and powerful these encounters can be.  Throughout the discussion we each share stories of what it is like to be out there, from whale watching, swimming with moms and calves, and being in the water with a singing humpback whale.
We conclude with Gene telling us the multiple meanings behind the name of his company, Conscious Breath Adventures and Jeff and Sara talking about how these trips have changed their lives.
Note: Sara is running a photo workshop with Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching from Friday Harbor, WA on September 16th & 17th. There are a few spots remaining. Please contact us if you are interested!
If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please follow/subscribe, leave us feedback/reviews and share with your friends! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.
For complete show notes, links and photos, please visit our website: https://www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/episode-7-humpback-whales-of-the-silver-bank/
 
Links mentioned in this episode:
Conscious Breath Adventures: https://www.consciousbreathadventures.com/
Video of T124A2s and T124A4s hunting seals off Sucia Island: https://youtu.be/V8byd-iRZNE
Summary of one week with Conscious Breath Adventures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFBshgzZqMo
Trip video from a week on the Silver Bank: https://youtu.be/vm5oMi3yTGM
Highlights from the Silver Bank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiPjSwvlAt0
How an in water encounter unfolds: https://youtu.be/A6UIL0vkjCk
Drone footage from the Silver Bank: https://youtu.be/vQ5bx6O8tsw
Drone video of a mom and calf: https://youtu.be/ME5di6rOx40
Audio of whale songs from the Silver Bank: https://soundcloud.com/captgene/a-humpback-virtuoso
A chorus of humpback whales: https://soundcloud.com/captgene/a-chorus-of-humpback-whales
Photos mentioned in this episode:
T124A2's and T124A4's. Photo by Sara Shimazu
 
T49As, T19, T19B hunting a steller sea lion. Photo by Jeff Friedman
 
T123 hunting a steller sea lion in 2020,. Photo by Sara Shimazu.
 
T19B, After the Breach! Photo by Jeff Friedman

Bigg’s killer whales are a thriving population we see often in the inland waters of Washington state and British Columbia. In this episode we take a closer look into what we are learning about their fascinating culture and social dynamics. Joining us is return guest, Monika Wieland Shields, co-founder and director of Orca Behavior Institute.
We discuss and highlight the differences between the two populations of orcas we see in the Salish Sea, the endangered fish-eating Southern Resident killer whales and the growing population of marine mammal-eating Bigg’s killer whales. We discuss the primary cultural difference in their prey and also discuss at length the differences in how they socialize, family structure, vocalizations, and social dynamics. 
We also discuss changes in each population’s presence in the inland waters over the last decade and how Bigg’s killer whales used to have a peak in their occurrence here but are now somewhere in the Salish Sea almost every day, often in multiple groups. We also talk about how their original names, Resident and Transient orcas, are no longer appropriate names. Fish-eating and mammal-eating is the ultimate description.
We talk about how we are now learning the culture of Bigg’s killer whales because of the increased frequency of sightings. We have far less history spending time with Biggs than the 40 years of observation of fish-eating orcas.  We discuss the interesting aspects of what we are learning.
We also get into threats to the Bigg’s population, specifically proposed pinniped culls. We talk about how regional wide culls could impede the Bigg’s population, whereas targeted culls in very local areas may be less harmful. 
We conclude this episode discussing recent sightings with the T37As, T2Cs, and T69s.
If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please follow/subscribe, leave us feedback/reviews and share with your friends! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.
For complete show notes, links and photos, please visit our website: https://www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/episode-6-biggs-killer-whales/
 
Photos mentioned in this episode:
T37As hunting along Protection Island. Photo by Sara Shimazu
 
T49A1 during a family reunion. Photo by Jeff Friedman
 
T2Cs. Photo by Sara Shimazu

The 2013 documentary Blackfish exposes the distress of killer whales kept in captivity and contrasts their lives with those of the wild orcas we see here in the Pacific Northwest. Joining us this week to talk about his involvement in the film is Dr Jeff Ventre, one of the former SeaWorld trainers featured Blackfish. 
We discuss the origins of Jeff’s involvement that can be traced back almost 15 years prior to the release of Blackfish, to 1995 while he was a senior trainer at SeaWorld, when he visited the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island. There he began his friendships with Astrid van Ginneken, Dave Ellifrit and Ken Balcomb learning about the lives of wild killer whales versus captive orcas.
After trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by captive orca Tilikum in 2010, Jeff was interviewed by CNN and others, further drawing him into opportunities to expose the dangers of orca captivity.
In our conversation, Jeff mentions the Outside Magazine feature article “The Killer in the Pool,” by Tim Zimmermann. Filmmaker Gabriela Coperthwaite read the article, which drew her into the story, and inspired her 2013 documentary. This also inspired “Superpod” gatherings of activists, authors, filmmakers and others on San Juan Island starting in 2011, where many of the interviews in the film were conducted.
Jeff speaks about the release of the film and how they thought getting into the Sundance Film Festival would be the pinnacle, not knowing the film was about to be purchased by CNN and Magnolia. Jeff discusses what it was like to participate in the global release of the film and how it became a rallying cry for the animal justice movement and a model for other documentaries.
Jeff also speaks with us about his most memorable experiences seeing iconic Southern Resident killer whales J1, “Ruffles,” and J2, “Granny.” These experiences radically altered his perspective and forever changed him. He took these experiences with him all the way forward to his participation in the film Blackfish.
In the second half of this episode, captains, professional guides and podcast co-hosts Jeff and Sara discuss the latest whale sightings around the San Juan Islands from running tours with Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching. We describe the scene with T65A3 and T49A2, recently referred to as “The Butcher Boys,” hunting in Active Pass amid ferry traffic. We also talk about a very rare visit from Bigg’s killer whale T72, a first-time sighting for us. He has a distinctive curl at the top of his dorsal fin and spends most of his time in northern BC and Southeast Alaska. He came down to our area accompanied by the T34s and T37s, familiar whales in this region, who also spend time up in Southeast Alaska. We also discuss recent sightings of Southern Resident killer whales and a new calf in K pod. 
If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please follow/subscribe, leave us feedback/reviews and share with your friends! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.
For complete show notes, links and photos, please visit our website: https://www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/blackfish/
 
Links mentioned in this episode:
Jeff Ventre on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffrey_ventre
Blackfish Official Website: https://www.blackfishmovie.com/
Watch Blackfish on Amazon
Analysis of Captive Orca Kasatka attacking Trainer Ken Peters: https://youtu.be/X03UrpOsvk8
CBS morning show interview with Jeff Ventre, Former SeaWorld trainer: Details of co-worker's death "horrific": https://youtu.be/hveQ3VRIlGQ 
"The Killer in the Pool",  by Time Zimmermann, Outside Magazine: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/environment/killer-pool/
Dorsal Fin Collapse in Captive Killer Whales Explained: https://youtu.be/awpAiyfTecg
Death at Seaworld, by David Kirby: https://www.amazon.com/Death-SeaWorld-Killer-Whales-Captivity/dp/1250031257
Photo-identification Catalogue, Population Status, and Distribution of Bigg’s Killer Whales known from Coastal Waters of British Columbia, Canada
Photos mentioned in this episode:
Jeff Ventre's Tilikum Bike
 
Jeff Ventre's Tilikum Bike
 
Bigg's killer whale T72. Photo by Sara Shimazu
 
Bigg's killer whale T72. Photo by Sara Shimazu

The return of humpback whales to the Salish Sea after an absence of almost 100 years is absolutely incredible. It is a story we love to share when we are out on the water on our whale watching tours. In this episode we talk in detail about the amazing humpback comeback with our guest, Tasli Shaw, co-founder and project lead of the Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea. Tasli is also a captain and professional guide with Ocean Ecoventures in Cowichan Bay, BC. 
We discuss the history of humpback whale presence in the Salish Sea and how they were extirpated in this region from commercial whaling by the early 1900’s. They were absent for nearly 100 years. They've since come back to the area in dramatic numbers, with the 2022 Humpbacks of the Salish Sea ID catalogue including 801 humpback whales. The regional humpback comeback began in the late 1990's with the iconic humpback whale "Big Mama", who brought her 7th calf back to the Salish Sea this spring.  We discuss the humpback comeback at length, including Tasli’s dedicated work on the 2022 regional ID catalogue.
We always ask all of our guests to share some memorable encounters and Tasli had an encounter with a humpback whale named “Windy” in 2014 that sounds like a once in a lifetime experience. She was able to get an incredible photo of Windy's eye (see photo below)! This turned to a discussion about how on rare occasions, humpback whales can become curious and approach vessels. We clearly noted this is a rare occurrence for us to experience and it is always initiated by the whale and never the whale watchers. 
We also talk a bit about the humpback whale "Flint", who has been documented in breeding grounds in Hawaii and Mexico in the same year! 
We think it is important to add information about the threats humpbacks face as their numbers continue to increase, including entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes. If you encounter an entangled whale please contact the Marine Mammal Stranding Network 1-866-767-6114 or the BC Marine Mammal Incident Response Network at 1-800-465-4336.
We then discuss a question sent in from one of our listeners asking about interactions between humpbacks and killer whales. We tell a few stories about these interesting interactions and how humpbacks seem to try to intervene when killer whales are hunting other marine mammals.
We conclude the episode discussing recent sightings. We have an update on the ongoing saga of young Bigg's killer whale T34A1, who we've been discussing on our last few episodes. Last episode she was traveling with a related orca, T37A1. We also talk about the new calf in the Bigg's killer whale family, the T36As!
Our next episode will drop on July 18th. Please send us feedback or questions! We might read them on the next episode. Email us at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com or message us on Instagram. If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please follow/subscribe, leave us feedback/reviews and share with your friends! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube.
 
For complete show notes please visit our website: https://www.afterthebreachpodcast.com/e/episode-4-the-humpback-comeback-in-the-salish-sea/
 
Links mentioned in this episode:
Ocean Ecoventures
Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea (including the 2022 ID catalog)
Check out Tasli's amazing art!
Video of humpback whales in the Salish Sea
Entangled orca off Oregon coast
 
Photos mentioned in this episode:
Humpback whale "Windy" Photo by Tasli Shaw
 
Humpback whale "Flint" Photo by Tasli Shaw
 
Humpback whale "Flint" Photo by Gary Sutton
 
New Bigg's killer whale calf (likely to T36A1). Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu
 
Two Bigg's killer whale calves in the T36As Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu
 
T37A with T37A5 and T34A1 Photo by Sara Hysong-Shimazu
 
Bigg's killer whales traveling down Saanich Inlet Photo by Jeff Friedman

Joining us as our guest this week is professional guide and captain Daven Hafey to discuss his new documentary film project Salmnesia. Daven has extensive field experience in wild places all over the planet including the Arctic, Alaska, Antarctica, and the San Juan Islands in Washington state.
We ask all our guests about memorable wildlife and whale encounters and Daven’s are well worth listening to. He spoke in detail about two amazing encounters in Antarctica that are so compelling. The first was seeing hundreds of whales feeding around an iceberg and the second was with a large, curious group of Antarctic small type B killer whales (Gerlache orcas).
The discussion includes details about the different types of Antarctic killer whales. Just like the orcas we encounter here in the San Juan Islands, there are distinct populations of killer whales in Antarctica. Type B2 killer whales (Gerlache orcas) frequently hunt penguins. Type B1 orcas are seen hunting seals and creating pressure waves to knock them off the ice flows. Type A killer whales target other species of whales. Type C killer whales live on the opposite side of Antarctica from the other and they are seen mostly hunting different species of fish. Finally, Type D orcas are very rarely documented and have been seen in open ocean.
After hearing about Daven’s encounters in Antarctica we discuss his documentary film project, Salmnesia. The concept of the documentary is based on the idea of generational amnesia -- how each generation assumes the conditions in which they are born into are normal. Because of generational amnesia, there is no reason to truly understand what once was, and this is very true today with the massive declines of west coast wild salmon. Salmnesia takes a unique approach with the belief that to know where we want to go, we must first remember what we’ve forgotten. The project is just getting off the ground and we talked about ways people can get involved and provide support.
We then turned the conversation to our latest sightings around Washington state in the San Juan Islands and around the Salish Sea. It has been an amazing spring. We’ve been seeing T63, “Chainsaw,” in June, experienced Bigg’s killer whales in unique, beautiful places, enjoyed the annual return of our famous Humpback Big Mama with her latest calf (number 7!), and a late May visit from J pod. We also talk about the saga of T65A5 leaving his mom and siblings to check out a lagoon in Port Angeles harbor.
Our next episode will drop on July 4th. If you would like to submit feedback or questions for us, we might read them on the next episode. Email us at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com or message us on Instagram. And please leave us comments, subscribe to our podcast, and share it with your friends!
 
Links Mentioned in this episode:
Salmnesia
Website 
Facebook 
GoFundMe
Elwha River & Dam Removal
Return of the River - A film about the largest dam removal project in the history of the United States, and the extraordinary effort to restore an eco-system and set a river free. 
Penguin Being Chased by Killer Whales Hops on Tourist Boat
 
Photos mentioned in this episode:
 
Daven's encounter with Gerlache killer whales. Do you see the brim of Daven's hat?
 
 
Bigg's killer whale T100F open mouth spyhop. Photo by Jeff Friedman, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.
 
 
Bigg's killer whale T63, "Chainsaw." Photo by Jeff Friedman, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching
 
 
Bigg's killer whales in Gerorgeson Pass, BC. Photo by Sara Hysong Shimazu, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.
 
 
J pod on the west side of San Juan Island. Photo by Sara Hysong Shimazu
 
 
2022 calf of Big Mama. Photo by Sara Hysong Shimazu, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.