After the Breach Podcast

Episode 33 - Killer Whale Rescues: T46C2, T73B & T109A3A Nov 12, 2024

After a fall hiatus while our co-hosts, Jeff and Sara, were busy on the water, the dynamic duo is back with Episode 33! Joining them is returning guest, Jared Towers, from Bay Cetology. Jared last visited to chat about the rescue of T51 “Roswell” and T49A2 “Jude” from Barnes Lake in Alaska on Episode 19 and he is back now to talk about more killer whale rescues that he’s been involved with.

The three of them start out talking about T46C2 “Sam” and her entrapment in a bay on Aristazabal Island in British Columbia. The then-four year old was surreptitiously found by two killer whale researchers who were able to rally a response that included Jared. He talks about that rescue, what they did, and what they learned from it. That feeds into the story of T73B who stayed in Comox Harbor in 2018 for a week. Unlike Sam’s story, T73B was an independent male and Comox Harbor was a very busy harbor and it was the busiest time of year—midsummer! The response had similarities but also a lot of differences to the previous one.

And last, but certainly not least, Jared talks about the rescue of T109A3A “Kʷiisaḥiʔis” (aka. Brave Little Hunter) from Zeballos, BC. this spring after her mother stranded and drowned. The ongoing rescue, which took about a month, was complicated, extensive, and really highlighted that what these rescues all share is that in the end, the whales involved are the ones calling the shots. The story of T109A3A is ongoing, with some confirmed sightings of her afterwards and we will all have to wait and see what happens in the future.

If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please share this with your friends, follow/subscribe, and leave us feedback/reviews wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you’d like to join Jeff and Sara on a trip then reach out to Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching to book!

You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

Links from this episode:

Bay Cetology: https://baycetology.org/
Bay Cetology Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baycetology
Killer whale observed dragging sailboat around Vancouver Island Harbor: https://youtu.be/zLMvUOq7Bms?si=jJBp91pYxFO6x-He

Episode 32 - Demystifying Killer Whales Part 2 Aug 20, 2024

Join your hosts, Jeff Friedman and Sara Shimazu, along with returning guests Monika Wieland Shields from the Orca Behavior Institute and Michael Weiss from the Center for Whale Research as they dive back into demystifying killer whales. The topics range from T109A3A’s saga to Iberian orcas to Southern Resident killer whales being doofuses (per Michael) to T65A5 being a sexual genius (per Jeff).

The conversation winds its way down some rabbit holes but touches on more topics that people brought up as feedback from part one as well as from the minds of four exhausted whale people during this late night conversation. We hope you enjoy!

Episode 31 - Recent Sightings Jul 03, 2024

On Episode 31 Jeff and Sara catch up on the most recent sightings in the Salish Sea and which whales have been seen lately. It’s been a hectic few weeks and they had recorded this previously and then there was just so much more happening that they had to record it again. And it’s a good thing too — they both sit down to record after a crazy day on the water with 38 killer whales and some humpback whales too! During the episode you’ll hear Sara reference 34 whales but they actually realized there were even more after the fact!

You’ll hear about that encounter from the two of them as well as some other recent sightings, including a visit by T51 “Roswell” who was one of the whales from Episode 19. He was stuck in a saltwater lake last summer along with T49A2 “Jude” for 44 days!

The pair’s photo workshop is filling up but space remains, so if you’re interested in joining them on August 24-25th, 2024 for two all-day tours then reach out to get the details and sign up. Last year’s trips were great and they can’t wait to see what happens this year!

Photos from this episode:

Photos from group of over 30 Biggs killer whales. Photo by Jeff Friedman

Humpback whale traveling through group of killer whales. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Drawing of a donkey by Divot & calf

Videos from this episode:

Episode 30 - Demystifying Killer Whales Jun 14, 2024

Episode 30 of After the Breach brings to the table a conversation we often have off the air. Joining us are Michael Weiss from the Center for Whale Research and Monika Wieland Shields from Orca Behavior Institute. Throughout our discussion we try to “demystify” killer whales. Being around these amazing animals sometimes has us seeing them through a human centric filter. It’s often easy to see ourselves in them and we think this is one of the many reasons people love them. But we also feel like it’s important to recognize that they are amazing creatures because they are social, intelligent individuals and they are not human. As we spend more and more time around them the more questions we have.

But there are a few persistent themes the four of us have heard about killer whales and we take this episode to address some of them. These may (or may not) be unpopular opinions but we hope they open some new conversations as we navigate this world as humans alongside other intelligent creatures. What we feel and do and think is probably not what they feel and do and think, even if we’d like to believe we’re like them or they’re like us. We don’t mean to diminish how impressive they are, but rather recenter that admiration and amazement outside of our human lens.

If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please share this with your friends, follow/subscribe, and leave us feedback/reviews wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you’d like to join Jeff and Sara on a trip then reach out to Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching to book!

You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

Links from this episode:

Center for Whale Research: https://www.whaleresearch.com/
Orca Behavior Institute: https://orcabehaviorinstitute.org/
Are we really about to talk to whales? https://theconversation.com/are-we-really-about-to-talk-to-whales-229778

Episode 29 - Killer Whales of Iceland May 31, 2024

On Episode 29 co-hosts, Jeff and Sara, welcome Judith Scott to the show. Judith has been around the world watching whales and spends much of her year in Iceland with the killer whales of the North Atlantic. She gives an introduction to the killer whales they see regularly off of Iceland and shares some stories about those whales. These killer whales feed primarily on herring, but some of them will switch to prey on seals in the summer! The three chat about that and more. They also have her share some of her adventures in other parts of the world.

If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please share this with your friends, follow/subscribe, and leave us feedback/reviews wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you’d like to join Jeff and Sara on a trip then reach out to Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching to book! They also have their special After the Breach Workshop on August 24-25, 2024. Join the duo for two full days on the water (or just one if you prefer). There are a couple of spots left!

You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

Links from this episode:

Laki Tours: https://lakitours.com/
Icelandic Orca Project : https://www.icelandic-orcas.com/

Photos from this episode:

Episode 28 - Sea Lion Predations May 04, 2024

On Episode 28 of After the Breach co-hosts Jeff and Sara dive into Steller’s sea lion hunts, recent sightings, and some good news surrounding T109A3A.

This spring has been one that has been filled with a lot of sea lion hunts. And for many of these hunts the whales involved have been, or included, the T049As. Jeff and Sara discuss what it’s like to witness those hunts and talk about a few recent ones, including a particularly brutal one they watched on the first all-day trip of the 2024 season.

After that they talk about the many groups whales that have been around recently and share some topics for upcoming episodes. If you have topics you’d like to hear about on the show don’t hesitate to send them via email!

If you’ve enjoyed listening and want to help support the podcast then share with any of your whale-loving friends and family. You can also leave reviews wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you’d like to join Jeff and Sara on a trip then reach out to Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching to book! They also have their special After the Breach Workshop on August 24-25, 2024. Join the duo for two full days on the water (or just one if you prefer). There are a couple of spots left!

If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please share this with your friends, follow/subscribe, and leave us feedback/reviews wherever you listen to podcasts! And if you’d like to join Jeff and Sara on a trip then reach out to Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching to book! They also have their special After the Breach Workshop on August 24-25, 2024. Join the duo for two full days on the water (or just one if you prefer). There are a couple of spots left!

You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

Photos from this episode:

Sea lion hunt. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Prey sharing after a sea lion hunt. Photo by Jeff Friedman

T075Bs coming in hot to join the T049As after a sea lion predation. Photo by Jeff Friedman

T146s. Photo by Sara Shimazu

T146B. Photo by Sara Shimazu

T128. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Episode 27 - April Whales Apr 15, 2024

On Episode 27 of After the Breach podcast co-hosts Jeff and Sara share all about the most recent sightings from the Salish Sea. It has been a busy few weeks whale-wise and the duo felt they needed to catch up about it almost as soon as they had finished recording the previous episode!

Dive in with them as they talk about the families that have been seen, a very quick sea lion hunt, and a new calf with one of their favorite families!

If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please share this with your friends, follow/subscribe, and leave us feedback/reviews! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

Links from this episode:

The History of Cetacean Taxonomy and Nomenclature: https://youtu.be/ZAkUE60o2o8?si=l2xtliA02mM5HWOJ

Photos from this episode:

T19B breach. Photo by Jeff Friedman

T49As and T18s. Photo by Jeff Friedman

T63, "Chainsaw," with T65 and T65Bs. Photo by Jeff Friedman

T49A6, "Charlie II." Photo by Jeff Friedman

Episode 26 - Latest Whale Sightings & Silver Bank Trip Report Mar 28, 2024

Episode 26 of After the Breach Podcast finds co-hosts, Jeff and Sara, reunited after Jeff’s trip to the Silver Bank to swim with humpback whales at the largest breeding ground in the world for North Atlantic humpback whales.

Jeff shares some of the amazing highlights from his time there, including swimming with a singer and spending time viewing a particularly energetic rowdy group. Jeff and Sara will be hosting a trip to the Silver Bank next year and one spot has opened up so be sure to get in touch if you’re interested in going!

Next, the two dive into recent sightings in the Salish Sea. There have been a lot of whales around recently and the duo talk about some of the families that have been around. They then share the sad news of the death of T109A3 who stranded and drowned near Zeballos on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Bay Cetology, headed by Jared Towers, is a great resource for updates on the unfolding situation as they attempt to reunite the two-year old calf of T109A3 with her extended family.

At the end of the episode, the two answer some listener requests and questions. They introduce the T124A matriline and answer a listener question of have we ever seen

any superpods. The definition of a superpod is when all three pods of the Southern Resident Community gather together. Every member of every matriline of every pod in the same area. The term often gets used to describe large gatherings or when most of the community is together but a true superpod is when every single whale in the SRKW community has come together.

If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please share this with your friends, follow/subscribe, and leave us feedback/reviews! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

Photos from this episode:

Humpback on the Silver Bank, 2024. Photo by Jeff Friedman

Steller sea lion hunt. Photo by Sara Shimazu

L77 with new calf L124 in 2019. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Superpod in 2019. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Superpod in 2019. Photo by Jeff Friedman

Episode 25 - Winter Whale Research + Special NRKW Encounters Mar 11, 2024

On Episode 25 of After the Breach Podcast, co-hosts Jeff and Sara welcome back their friend and colleague, Gary Sutton. Aside from being a captain in the Salish Sea he has also been working with OceanWise as a researcher and he joins in to talk about the research he’s a part of and some exciting upcoming projects.

Before they get into that the three discuss the Northern Resident killer whales, which are a salmon-eating population similar to the Southern Resident killer whales that are a frequent topic of conversation. This population spends most of their time in the waters off northern Vancouver Island and along the central coast of British Columbia and even up into Alaska. While they are not infrequent visitors to the most northern reaches of the Salish Sea, the past few weeks have found three matrilines of Northern Resident killer whales visiting the waters of Howe Sound, where Jeff, Sara, and Gary all got to see them.

Gary shares some interesting foraging observations about his visit with the A23s, A25s, and A42s, while Jeff and Sara talk about their impromptu visit with them. For Jeff this was a reconnection with a whale that changed his life and for Sara this was her first visit with this ecotype.

If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please share this with your friends, follow/subscribe, and leave us feedback/reviews! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

Links from this episode:

Photos from this episode:

Northern Resident killer whales in Howe Sound, photo by Sara Shimazu

Northern Resident killer whale, A61 "Surge," photo by Jeff Friedman

Northern Resident killer whales in Howe Sound, photo by Jeff Friedman

Episode 24 - Whale Watching & Whale FAQs and Early Season Sightings Feb 26, 2024

Episode 24 of After the Breach is a long-awaited FAQ episode. Co-hosts, Jeff and Sara have been collecting questions from listeners and guests to Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching for a while and now they’re going to sit down and answer as many as they can. This will be the first FAQ episode but with the amount of questions received there will eventually be another one.

Have you ever wondered what it's like to go whale watching in the Salish Sea? A lot of people have! Jeff and Sara start off by answering some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding going whale watching here and what that entails. What time of year is best? What time of day? What if it rains? They get to all of these and more. Afterwards they dive into some more questions regarding the whales and also themselves.

If you have questions you haven’t asked then don’t worry! You can still submit them and they will keep them for future episodes. Feel free to write to Jeff and Sara through email, Instagram, or Facebook. And thank you for being a listener of After the Breach Podcast!

If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please share this with your friends, follow/subscribe, and leave us feedback/reviews! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

Links from this episode:

Maya's Legacy Whale Watching

Photos from this episode:

Special podcast guest, Sundae

Steller sea lion hunt, photo by Sara Shimazu

T18 spyhop, photo by Jeff Friedman

Episode 23 - Killer Whales of Bremer Canyon Part 3 Feb 12, 2024

Episode 23 finds co-hosts Jeff and Sara back home in Washington State after their visit to Bremer Bay, Western Australia. Join these (more than) slightly jet-lagged whale enthusiasts as they chat once again with their friend and colleague, April Ryan, about their trip down under. This will be the last episode dedicated to their January trip though it will certainly come up once again in future episodes.

In this episode they share some more stories from their time down there and talk about one of the most intense hunts they saw of thirty-some killer whales pursuing a strap-toothed beaked whale. Also mentioned is a special little whale, Chopper, who is one of a few whales in the population who has no dorsal fin.

They wrap up the episode with some thoughts about the differences between whale watching culture here in the Pacific Northwest (and the United States) and in Australia.

A huge shoutout goes to Naturaliste Charters. Paul and his crew down there are amazing and dedicated to what they do. They run the killer whale tours from December through April and then run out of Augusta and Dunsborough the rest of the year for the north-bound and south-bound migrations. Make sure to follow along with their seasons and if you head down to Western Australia be sure to book a tour with them!

Links from this Episode

Photos from this Episode

Socializing orcas. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Chopper. Photo by Jeff Friedman

Beaked whale predation. Photo by April Ryan

Episode 22 - Bremer Canyon Killer Whales Part 2 - A Few Quick Highlights Jan 29, 2024

Episode 22 of After the Breach finds co-hosts, Sara and Jeff, still down in Bremer Bay, Western Australia with their friend and colleague, April Ryan. They have had so many encounters over the past two weeks and there’s so much to share! This time around the three of them share a quick highlight reel of just a few of the things that have stood out to them lately. They’ll have so much more to share once they’re back home (and rested!) but join them now to hear about what’s different for Sara from last year to this year, the patrolling whales that made a lasting impression on April, and Jeff’s memorable encounter with a juvenile who just seemed intrigued by the Go Pro camera the crew had in the water—and it wasn’t the first time for this particular whale!

Enjoy these stories, plus a couple more, and get ready to hear a whole lot more in the coming weeks as the three of them return home, catch up on some sleep, and really process everything they’ve learned from the Bremer Canyon killer whales.

If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please share this with your friends, follow/subscribe, and leave us feedback/reviews! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

Videos from this Episode:

Photos from this Episode

Bremer Canyon killer whales pursuing a beaked whale. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Orca kids prey sharing. Photo by April Ryan

Orcas prey sharing. Photo by Sara Shimazu.

Albatross with lunch on the fly. Photo by April Ryan

Orca teeth. Photo by Jeff Friedman

Episode 21 - Killer Whales of Bremer Canyon Jan 15, 2024

Episode 21 of After the Breach finds co-hosts, Jeff Friedman and Sara Shimazu, coming to you from on the road. The two are down in Bremer Bay, Western Australia for the month of January and with them is their colleague and episode guest, April Ryan, who joined them on Episode 8 “Orcas Take a Minke Whale”. The three have been out on the water nearly every day and after over a week of encounters with the orcas of the Bremer Canyon the three discuss first, second, and fourth impressions of this amazing population.

Where is the Bremer Canyon and who are these whales? Jeff and Sara introduce both as they set the stage for retellings of their stories of the past few days interspersed with information on what makes these whales and their ecosystem so special. April, who is visiting for the first time, shares her first impressions of this new-to-her population. The three of them talk about the power behind these whales as they chase their prey (mainly beaked whales, but they also eat fish!), the predation events they’ve witnessed, the new calf in one of the groups, and even four previously undocumented adult whales! WITH OPEN SADDLE PATCHES! What does it mean? Well, the truth is we don’t really know but they share their speculations and thought about that and so much more.

Before they sign off the episode Sara talks a bit about the research she’s doing and the interview she did with ABC Australia about the Bremer Canyon orcas.

If you’d like to get out on the water with Jeff and Sara you can sign up for a tour with Maya’s Legacy Whale Watching in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington. Just make sure to let them know you listen to the podcast and would like to meet Jeff and Sara! And if you’re looking for an extra special whale trip our co-hosts will be offering another photo workshop in August 2024 and a trip to swim with humpback whales on the Silver Bank in the Dominican Republic in February 2025. There are only a few spots left between the two so definitely reach out to them if you’re interested in signing up!

If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please share this with your friends, follow/subscribe, and leave us feedback/reviews! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

Links from this episode:

Photos from this episode:

Open saddle patch on newly discovered whale in Bremer Canyon. Photo by Sara Shimazu

New calf in Bremer Canyon. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Bremer Canyon Orca, "Nibbles," surging to predation of beaked whale. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Beaked whale organs after predation. Photo by April Ryan

Beaked whale brain. Photo by April Ryan

More surging. Photo by Jeff Friedman

Episode 20 - Whale Numbers Dec 01, 2023

On this episode of After the Breach podcast, hosts Jeff Friedman and Sara Shimazu are joined by Monika Wieland Shields from Orca Behavior Institute to recap the season in numbers. We discuss sightings data for both Southern Resident killer whales (salmon eaters) and Bigg's killer whales (marine mammal eaters), and recap some incredible stories from our latest whale sightings around the San Juan Islands.

We jump right in talking about a recent November superpod with all members of the Southern Resident orca population and how sightings of superpods in the inland waters of the Salish Sea have changed over the last 20 years. We discuss in detail how the presence of Southern Residents in the Salish Sea and how they are seen more frequently from October - March than their historical peak season of April - September. We talk about how their old patterns have completely filpped and what this may mean. We also point out the confusion in the general public created by having a population we don't see as often as we used to, yet there are media stories of record numbers of killer whale sightings, due to the dramatic increase of Bigg's killer whale sightings.

Our conversation transitions to the record setting number of Bigg's killer whale sightings and how each year since 2017 continues to break previous records. We talk about how much has changed in less than 10 years.

Our conversation continues to some recent Bigg's sightings, including a Minke whale hunt, a steller sea lion hunt, and a once in a lifetime moment for Monika (you'll have to listen to the podcast to hear the story).

We conclude with another meet the matriline, this time with the T123s: Sydney (T123), Stanley (T123A), Lucky (T123C) and Darcy (T123D).

If you are enjoying listening to our podcast, please share this with your friends, follow/subscribe, and leave us feedback/reviews! You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Please send us feedback or questions at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

Links from this episode:

Photos from this episode:

Photo by Sara Shimazu

Episode 19 - Killer Whale Rescue Nov 03, 2023

In mid-August two killer whales were observed to be trapped in Barnes Lake, near the small community of Coffman Cove, in Southeast Alaska. Through an amazing collaboration between residents of Coffman Cove, NOAA, scientists and others, the whales were successfully rescued and guided back to open water on September 29th. Jared Towers, director of Bay Cetology joins us to tell the story of the rescue and how he helped to guide the whales out of Barnes Lake.

Our discussion begins with Jared talking about Barnes Lake, a saltwater lagoon with entrances to the north and south, and the challenges of getting in and out of the lake from open water. Jared also discusses an incident in 1994 when offshore killer whales were trapped in the same area for several weeks. He also discusses his involvement in previous killer whale rescues with T046C2 and T073B, the challenges of whale rescues and the available methods that can be used.

Jared helped to identify the two Bigg's killer whales that were trapped in Barnes Lake, T051, a 42-year-old male, and T049A2, a 16-year-old male. Prior to their sighting in Barnes Lake in mid-August they had been last reported together off the west coast of Vancouver Island on July 9th.

Our discussion with Jared covers the incredible collaboration that took place to rescue T051 and T049A2 and the detailed considerations and contextual knowledge behind the specific vocals he played to help guide the whales out of Barnes Lake.

Jared tells the story in detail of how the first attempt failed to get the whales free through the kelp bed at the north entrance. He continues by describing how the team regrouped the following day to successfully free the two whales through the south entrance.

Our discussion with Jared concludes by talking about Finwave, an online photo-identification database he helped develop to streamline identification and cataloguing sightings information, and how it is currently being used to track Bigg's killer whale data.

Sara and Jeff finish the episode talking briefly about recent whale sightings around the San Juan Islands and meet the matriline with the T049As.

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.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Photos mentioned in this episode:

Barnes Lake and Coffman Cove from Google Maps

Photo by Jared Towers

Episode 18 - Center for Whale Research Oct 16, 2023

The Center for Whale Research (CWR) is dedicated to the study and conservation of the critically endangered Southern Resident killer whale population and also study the thriving Bigg's killer whale population. Joining us as our guests from CWR are Research Director, Dr. Michael Weiss, and Orca Survey Lead, Dave Ellifrit.

We cover a variety of topics in our discussion, filled with lots of great stories. We being talking about the census work conducted by CWR as well as behavioral observations from drones to observe social interactions, networks and prey sharing behavior.

The discussion is full of fascinating stories, and we had to ask Dave to tell a few more stories, one about a legendary Bigg's killer whale hunt of a Minke whale, and a happy baby Southern Resident killer whale story.

With so many great stories, we will surely have these two back on a future episode.

We finish our discussion talking about how the whales are so interdependent on each other and how social effects influence population trajectory. And of course we heard a few more topics interwoven into the conversation, from whales tossing their babies around to different body shapes, fat foreheads, and funny looking whales.

The episode concludes with our latest sightings, including the continuing saga of T65A5 and an update on Jack's summer camp, and our meet the matriline with the T18s.

We have dates for our 2024 After the Breach Podcast Photo Workshop! Saturday August 24th and Sunday August 25th, 2024. You can sign up for both days or just one day. Email us or you can find details here.

We also have dates for our 2025 week-long charter to see the humpbacks of the Silver Bank, which will be February 15-22, 2025. Stay tuned for more details.

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.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Center for Whale Research: https://www.whaleresearch.com/

CWR New Vessel for Field Research: https://www.whaleresearch.com/post/new-vessel-will-open-up-new-opportunities-for-center-for-whale-research-fieldwork

Episode 17 - September Whales Oct 03, 2023

There is often something special about September whales. Mid-August through mid-October is a favorite time to view whales in the Salish Sea, typically with an abundance of orcas, humpback whales and many days of beautiful fall lighting. Sara and Jeff begin this episode by sharing some highlights of this year's September whales, including a humpback playing with logs, humpbacks lunge feeding in krill blooms, and the many matrilines of Bigg's killer whales that have been in the area.

The episode continues to highlight some of the many killer whale encounters and a recap of this year's After the Breach Podcast Photo Workshop. Over the two days of the workshop, in addition to humpback whales, we encountered a total of 48 individual Bigg's killer whales. We saw a total of 32 orcas each day in various groups. We talk about the memorable ending of day one, with a group or orcas nicknamed "Jack's summer camp," (an interesting split in matrilines we started talking about in episode 16) in epic late afternoon September lighting. We also talk about a very rare encounter with the T028As, a family that has not been documented since 2021, and the 109A2s, a family that has an 18 year old mom with 4 young kids!

The episode includes a section we almost forgot, meet the matriline, where we discuss the T36s. T36 is the mom of T36A and T36B, and also the presumed mom of T99 and T137. This makes her her responsible for 19 whales, including grandkids and her first great grandkid.

We have dates for our 2024 After the Breach Podcast Photo Workshop! Saturday August 24th and Sunday August 25th, 2024. You can sign up for both days or just one day. Email us or you can find details here.

On this episode we also discuss a bit about our 2025 Silver Bank week-long charter, which will be February 15-22, 2025. Stay tuned for more details.

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.

Photos from this episode:

Humpback whale, "Stitch," playing with logs. Photo by Jeff Friedman, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching

Lunge feeding humpback whale. Photo by Jeff Friedman, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching

Krill bloom at the surface. Photo by Jeff Friedman, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching

End of day of the After the Breach Photo Workshop. Photo by Jeff Friedman, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching

Episode 16 - Catching Up & September Photo Workshop Sep 04, 2023

We are back! Sara and Jeff found time to connect for a new episode to talk about some of the latest amazing sightings and our upcoming photo workshop & all day tours on September 23rd and 24th.

We talk and tell stories throughout the episode about how many different groups of orcas have been in the area over the last few months. We share a brief update on the brothers from Episode 15 and share the latest in the ongoing saga of T65A5, Indy, who became entangled in crab gear. He freed himself and resumed his role as social butterfly of the Salish Sea.

We also talk about a new calf with the 75Bs and who might be the mom. And T63, "Chainsaw" has made an unusual late summer appearance.

We finish the episode with teasing some thoughts on upcoming epoxides and our offseason plans to see whales around the world.

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.

Episode 15 - Brothers Jun 26, 2023

On this episode of After the Breach podcast, hosts and professional guides, Jeff Friedman and Sara Shimazu, talk about a recent interesting encounter they had on May 20th with two brothers from the Bigg’s killer whale population, T125A and T128. Also joining us is returning guest, Monika Wieland Shields from the Orca Behavior Institute (OBI) who was also out on the water and provides her own observations from that day.

Starting out the episode the three talk about the latest sightings in the Salish Sea. It has been a busy spring and there has been a lot happening. We’ve had some of our more famous humpback whales return, tons of Bigg’s killer whales sightings, and even J-pod returned just before the end of May! Monika shares some interesting insights courtesy of OBI.

On May 20th, two killer whales were reported south of San Juan Island in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca. The two were quickly identified as T125A and T128. These boys belong to an interesting family of four, led by their mother T125. In 2015 the matriline was seen in the Salish Sea for the first time in 22 YEARS. They were around for a few days but then disappeared again. Since then these two brothers seem to have dispersed from their mom and have been making annual forays into the area where they’ve quickly become whale watching favorites. They usually travel fairly tight together but last month when they were seen they were traveling in the general vicinity of each other but separated over a mile from the other as they traveled north into Rosario Strait.

Once there they came together briefly before separating again. T128 went into the inner San Juan Islands through Thatcher Pass while T125A continued up Rosario Strait. When Jeff and Monika caught up with T128 he was not really going anywhere and was circling on the west side of Blakely Island. What they did notice right away was that he had some pretty deep rake marks from another killer whale on his dorsal fin!

Meanwhile T125A was continuing up Rosario Strait where Sara got on scene with him. He quickly turned and headed back down the strait in the direction he had come from and started vocalizing and pushing a lot of water as he came up to the surface, sometimes rolling and slapping his dorsal fin or tail lobbing. It really seemed like he was trying to be loud and obvious as to where he was.

Jeff reported that T128 turned and actually went back out into Rosario Strait where he would have heard his brother and then quickly turned and went back into the inner islands. He was last seen heading west past Lopez Island ferry terminal and T125A was left still heading south in Rosario Strait.

There’s a lot of room for speculation and human interpretation into what happened here, if anything. Did the two brothers have an argument and needed some time apart? Was T125A the culprit to those rake marks on his brother? There are so many questions and we can only guess as to what may have happened. We had hoped they would show up the next day but they disappeared overnight and haven’t been seen since.

That is until a few days before we were going to post this episode; guess who showed up!? The brothers, reunited, and in the case of T128, all healed! Where were they the last three weeks? Did they reunite the night of the 20th or did they take some more time apart?

We have an upcoming photography workshop in September! Details are available on our website www.afterthebreachpodcast.com or you can send us an email at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com. It’s September 23rd and 24th and we will spend each day on the water with catered lunches and a ton of information to share!

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-15-brothers

Links mentioned in this episode:

Orca Behavior Institute blog post about the encounter with the brothers, T128 and T125A
Vocalizations from T125A, recorded by Sara Hysong-Shimazu from an above-water hydrophone speaker
Map of the travels of T125A and T128 during this encounter

Photos mentioned in this episode:

Episode 14 - Responsible Whale Watching May 18, 2023

The collaboration between whale watching companies in the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA) and other groups makes whale watching in the inland waters of Washington state and British Columbia unique, resulting in some of the most responsible whale watching on the planet. Erin Gless, the executive director of the Pacific Whale Watch Association, joins us to discuss the origins of the PWWA and the special collaboration that takes place on the water to promote responsible whale watching, education, research and conservation.

But first we share some of recent sightings from our whale watching tours with Maya's Legacy Whale Watching in the San Juan Islands. We've been seeing more humpbacks as they are returning to their summer feeding waters in the Salish Sea, including several encounters with Divot (BCX1057) and Zephyr (BCZ0414). On a few of those encounters the mom and daughter were traveling together. We also discuss encounters with large groups of Bigg's killer whales, highlighting a day where we watched a group of 19 killer whales traveling hard against a strong tide in the narrow part of San Juan Channel. Included in this group were iconic whales T87 (Harbeson) and T63 (Chainsaw). Photos included below. We wrap up the latest sightings from our encounter seeing a big family reunion with T65, T63, the T65As and T65Bs. Later in this episode we talk about this entire family in more detail.

We turn the discussion to responsible whale watching and welcome Erin, who has been working in the whale watch community in various locations since 2008 and is currently the executive director of the Pacific Whale Watch Association. Erin talks with us about the origins of the PWWA and how it currently represents 30 companies over a large geographic range, spanning from Seattle in the south to Telegraph Cove, BC to the north, and Port Renfrew to the west. We discuss at length the unique nature of the collaboration between companies and how this differs from whale watching in many parts of the world. The discussion includes how this collaboration creates responsible whale watching practices and makes this region such a popular whale watching spot, with different groups and species of whales being documented on an almost a daily basis. We also talk about how this collaboration spans outside PWWA with other whale watching associations, ferries, commercial shipping, researchers and others.

We then discuss data collection being done by PWWA operators, including sentinel actions, which are proactive steps taken on the water to protect whales and other wildlife throughout the shared waters of the Salish Sea.

We wrap up our discussion with Erin by talking about how to find and choose a responsible whale watching company in other parts of the world.

We conclude the episode by introducing a new segment called “Meet the Matrilines” in which we will be talking in detail about a specific family of Bigg's killer whales in each episode. This episode’s matriline is one that we often mention in our latest sightings, the T65 family tree, which include T65, her presumed son, T63, her oldest daughter T65A and her 5 kids, and her youngest daughter T65B and her 3 kids.

We will be holding a photography workshop / all day whale watching & wildlife tour on Saturday, September 23rd and Sunday, September 24th. You can sign up for one day or both. We will be on the water all day(6-8 hours) and the price includes catering, photography instruction, and whale ID tips. It will be a lot of fun. If you are interested please email us at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

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-14-responsible-whale-watching

Links mentioned in this epsisode:

Pacific Whale Watch Association: https://www.pacificwhalewatchassociation.com/
PWWA Sightings & Sentinel Action Reports: https://www.pacificwhalewatchassociation.com/annualreports

Photos mentioned in this episode:

Iconic Bigg's killer whales T87 born est 1962 (Harbeson) left, and T63 (Chainsaw) born 1978 right. Photo by Jeff Friedman

Bigg's killer whales pushing against tide in San Juan Channel. Photo by Jeff Friedman.

Sentinel action: removing discarded fishing gear from the water. Photo by PWWA.

Sentinel action: whale warning flag for other vessels. Photo by PWWA

Shared waters: Bigg's killer whales & BC ferry. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Shared waters: Bigg's killer whales & Washington ferry. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Shared waters: Cruise ship with humpback whale. Photo by Ellie Sawyer

Episode 13 - Inbreeding Depression & Killer Whales May 02, 2023

Following up on our last episode where we discussed the low genetic diversity of Antarctic Type D killer whales, in this episode we chat about another recently published genetics paper that focuses on killer whale populations in the Northeast Pacific, including Southern Resident, Northern Resident, Alaskan Resident, Offshore and Bigg's killer whales. Joining us for this discussion is returning guest Monika Wieland Shields, co-founder and director of Orca Behavior Institute.

But first we share some recent sighting stories because so much is happening on the water and we continue to see large groups of Bigg's killer whales in the area. Sara and Jeff ran an all day tour last weekend with Maya's Legacy Whale Watching and spent time with a group of 19 whales from several families, including the T036As, T049A1, T124As, T124C, T125A, T128, and the T065Bs, who had a new calf by her side.

There are so many young whales in the Bigg's population and on this particular encounter, over 25% of the whales were under the age of 3. We discuss the contrast between the number of Bigg's v Southern Resident killer whales under the age of 10 and how this is stunning when seen visually (see image under photos).

We also discuss a recent sea lion hunt right outside of Friday Harbor with the T018s with the T049As, and an interesting encounter with the T046s and T046Bs where T046 herself was not present.

We then turn the conversation to the recently published paper, "Inbreeding depression explains killer whale population dynamics." Monika leads the discussion about inbreeding depression, which is defined as reduced biological fitness that results from breeding between related individuals. The primary finding of the study is that both males and females are less likely to reach age 40 if they have a higher inbreeding coefficient. The Southern Resident killer whales lack of recovery is due, in part, to their lack of genetic diversity compared to the other populations in the Northeast Pacific, which have all been increasing in population. We discussed the role of the captures for marine parks and how this created a population bottleneck. We also discuss other factors hindering Southern Resident recovery and what can be done to address the factors that are within our control.

We also talk about some of the fascinating supplemental information in the paper, including updated paternity information and effective population sizes.

We conclude the episode by announcing our After the Breach Photo Workshop with Sara & Jeff. We will be holding the workshop on Saturday, September 23rd and Sunday, September 24th. You can sign up for one day or both. We will have all day tours (6-8 hours) each day, including catering, photography & whale ID tips, and a lot of fun. If you are interested please email us at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com.

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-13-inbreeding-depression-and-killer-whales

Links mentioned in this episode:

Orca Behavior Institute: https://orcabehaviorinstitute.org/
Maya's Legacy Whale Watching: https://sanjuanislandwhalewatch.com/
Inbreeding depression explains killer whale population dynamics: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-01995-0

Photos mentioned in this episode:

T065B with new calf T065B3. Photo by Sara Shimazu

T019B. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Episode 12 - Type D Killer Whales Apr 13, 2023

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

Episode 11 - Our Offseason, Whales around the World Mar 22, 2023

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 Sara Hysong-Shimazu

Photo by Jeff Friedman

Episode 10 - Corky Dec 11, 2022

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

Episode 9 - Orca Research with Gary Sutton Nov 28, 2022

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

Episode 8 - Orcas Take a Minke Whale Oct 13, 2022

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.

TO65As and T099s hunting minke whale. Photo by April Ryan.

T065As and T099s hunting minke whale. Photo by April Ryan.

Episode 7 - Humpback Whales of the Silver Bank Sep 08, 2022

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

Episode 6 – Culture & Social Dynamics of Bigg’s Killer Whales Aug 08, 2022

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

Episode 5 - Blackfish Jul 22, 2022

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

Bigg's killer whale T72. Photo by Sara Shimazu

Episode 4 - The Humpback Comeback in the Salish Sea Jul 04, 2022

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

Episode 3 - West Coast Wild Salmnesia Jun 20, 2022

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
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.

Episode 2 – Two Distinct Populations of Killer Whales in the Salish Sea May 13, 2022

Joining us as our guest this week is Monika Wieland Shields, co-founder and director of Orca Behavior Institute. In addition to talking with Monika about OBI's field research, we spoke about the two different ecotypes of killer whales we see in the waters around the San Juan Islands, the endangered fish-eating Southern Residents and the thriving marine mammal eating Bigg’s (formerly known as Transients). We discussed the changing trends in sightings of each population in the area and what is driving these changes.

Monika also shared some information about OBI’s new study about killer whales and vessels in the Salish Sea, offering a new perspective on factors influencing incident rates.

As we do on each episode we got into recent whale sightings around the San Juan Islands, including the fascinating, ongoing saga of young Bigg’s killer whale T34A1 switching families.

Our next episode will drop on May 30th. If you would like to submit feedback or questions to us we might read a few submissions on the next episode. Email us at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com or message us on Instagram.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Orca Behavior Institute
- Website
- Instagram
- Facebook
- YouTube
- SoundCloud
Souhaut, Marie, and Monika W. Shields. 2021. “Stereotyped whistles in Southern Resident killer whales.” PeerJ 9:e12085
Killer whales and vessels in the Salish Sea: A new perspective on factors influencing incident rates

Photos mentioned in this episode:

Average days per month SRKWs and Bigg's killer whales are in the Salish Sea. Data compiled by the Orca Behavior Institute.

T34 matriline

T34A1 last sighting with family, August 22, 2021. Photo by Sara Hysong Shimazu, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.

T34A1 with T36 and T36Bs, September 2021. Photo by Sara Hysong Shimazu, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.

SRKW J41 as a calf 2005. Photo by Monika Wieland Shields.

SRKW J53 as a calf 2015. Photo by Jeff Friedman, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.

New SRKW calf J59, 2022. Photo by Sara Hysong Shimazu, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.

Episode 1 - Intro & Spring Whale Sightings Apr 22, 2022

We kicked off our first episode with an introduction to your hosts, Jeff and Sara, and the origins of “After the Breach.” We caught up with early 2022 encounters, beginning with Sara’s amazing experience with Risso’s dolphins, which are very rare in the inland waters of the Salish Sea. We discussed recent encounters with Bigg’s killer whales, Southern Resident killer whales and humpbacks. We also described some of our all-time most memorable encounters and what we are looking forward to this season.

Our next episode will drop on May 13th and will include guest Monika Weiland Shields, founder and director of Orca Behavior Institute.

If you’d like to submit questions to hosts Jeff and Sara and/or our guest Monika for episode 2, you can email us at afterthebreachpodcast@gmail.com or message us on Instagram.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Read more about Sara's amazing encounter with Risso's dolphins from her blog post.
70+ Bigg's Killer Whales Seen in Salish Sea Thursday, New Single-Day Record
Naturalist, whale-watching guides astounded by humpback whale chasing after orcas in Salish Sea

Photos mentioned in this episode:

Risso's dolphins, rarely seen in the Salish Sea. Photo by Sara Shimazu, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.

Sperm whale encounter from 2018. Photo by Jeff Friedman, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.

Humpback whale "Valiant" with Bigg's killer whales. Photo by Ellie Sawyer, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.

Bigg's killer whale T65B in 2019 throwing a Steller sealion pelt. Photo by Jeff Friedman, Maya's Legacy Whale Watching.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected