Humpback whale ‘Notcho’ dies after being hit by BC Ferries vessel

Federal authorities have confirmed the discovery of a deceased humpback whale floating in Howe Sound, British Columbia, approximately a week following a BC Ferries ship collision in the same area.

The Fisheries Department Canada disclosed in a statement that two whales were observed in proximity to the ferry on October 18 as it navigated between Grace Point and Keats Island within Howe Sound. Regrettably, one of the whales was struck by the vessel after surfacing in front of it.

The agency subsequently received reports and photographs of a deceased whale near Grace Point on Monday, although they have not yet confirmed if the deceased animal is the same as the carcass initially spotted. Tasli Shaw, co-founder of Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea, corroborated the news via photographs shared by a local resident.

Shaw clarified that researchers typically utilize tail flukes or dorsal fins to identify individual whales; however, in this instance, the whale's tail fluke was absent. Additionally, the dorsal fin was not visible in the provided photograph. Nonetheless, Shaw identified the humpback whale as Notcho, also designated as BCX1700, based on its distinctive right pectoral flipper.

While the whale's age remains unknown, Shaw noted that Notcho had been spending summers in the Salish Sea since 2017 for foraging purposes. The Fisheries Department Canada is currently endeavoring to locate the deceased whale and is also coordinating efforts to determine its cause of death and collect supplementary data through a potential necropsy.