Blue Whales & Blue Angels

Last Saturday’s trip started beautifully with sunny skies and gorgeous views of the sun breaking over the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. As we set out on the water, we were greeted by shy harbor porpoises popping up here and there on our way out to Point Bonita. The clear blue skies gave us all a spectacular view of the beautiful Point Bonita Lighthouse as well as the usual harbor seals hauled out in Bonita Cove who were accompanied by a sprinkling of western grebes.

The seas were exceptionally calm, giving everyone a nice, smooth ride out into the Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary. We stopped for awhile to watch two slowly cruising humpback whales. They came close enough to the boat so that we were able to hear them exhale, which is always an incredible experience. As they began to move farther away from the boat one of the humpbacks stuck out a huge pectoral fin and slapped down on the water as if to wave goodbye.

The excitement on board was mounting as the Farallon Islands appeared in the distance. Suddenly, Captain Jimmy veered the boat left at the sight of two enormous spouts erupting from the water. Passengers on board gasped as one of the blue whales launched itself out of the water, mouth agape, and came crashing back down with significant force. We were witnessing two blue whales in the process of “lunge feeding,” a rarely seen event, especially with the ever-elusive blues.

This process of lunging, turning and rolling lasted almost forty minutes and gave us spectacular views of pectoral fins, flukes and even their huge mouths and throat grooves. To see this animal out of the water is really the only way to grasp their gigantic size—blue whales can exceed 90 ft in length and weigh over 100 tons—and the speed with which they can move is breathtaking.

The recent spike in krill populations along the California coast can most likely explain this behavior as these whales feed almost exclusively on this tiny crustacean, consuming about 4 tons a day. Having an opportunity to see something like this is humbling. Historically, global blue whale populations were estimated to be around 300,000 until whaling reduced their numbers almost to extinction. Today, it is estimated that there are about 5,000-12,000 of the animals worldwide. Just getting a glimpse of a blue whale is amazing, but seeing them feeding and coming up out of the water is truly extraordinary.

When we finally arrived at the Farallones the islands were covered in dense low lying fog, but we were able to hear and definitely smell the presence of many sea lions. We idled for awhile in Fisherman’s Bay watching another boat where a few brave individuals suited up for great white shark cage diving. Through the fog we were able to catch glimpses of the islands and even a few shark researchers anchored in a sailboat.

We left the islands behind us and headed out towards San Francisco, pausing to watch some resting humpbacks and a few blue whales travelling at top speed. San Francisco was sunny and warm as we slipped under the Golden Gate Bridge and into a crowded mass of boats, from giant ships to canoes and kayaks, all waiting to watch the Blue Angels perform for Fleet Week.

(Note from photographer: this image is NOT upside-down. The Blue Angels are flying upside-down!) We idled for the length of the spectacular performance, a fantastic way to end our trip. Overall it was an amazing day for whale watching as the whales seemed to be everywhere. After talking to the passengers about the amazing things we had seen, from blue whales to Blue Angels, I think everyone understood that we had witnessed some incredible sights that day and we all departed contented and smiling.

Narration by Naturalist Amber Parmenter. File images of Blue Angels by photographer and blogger Kathleen Jacques. And a very special thank you to whale photographer and passenger Randall Finley.

White Shark Season- Sharktober

Each fall White Sharks return to the Marin shoreline and the Gulf of the Farallones. These apex predators are returning after an epic ocean voyage, the course and destination of which have only recently been discovered. We know from biologists stationed on the Farallon Islands that there is a local seasonal population of White Sharks at the islands. Photographs of fins identify specific individuals who return to the Farallones, some every two years, some every year.

As part of a long term observational and tagging study – the Shark Watch program- conducted by the Point Reyes National Bird Observatory, we know that the white sharks gather in the fall in the Gulf of the Farallones and off Ano Nuevo in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and then disappear a few months later. Where do they go? New satellite tracking data from Stanford’s TOPP program has revealed that each year the sharks leave the Sanctuary and gather at an area thousands of miles away off Hawaii at a location called The White Shark Café. A café is where we come to eat, linger, have a drink and maybe check out the opposite sex. “That’s probably what the sharks are doing,” says Stanford shark specialist Dr. Sal Jorgenson in Sean Aronsen’s documentary The White Shark Café. It makes sense...eating...breeding...

Now, thanks to satellite tracking, we know where the sharks are going, and we know where they return and when. The question is, why? Although sharing the waters of the Cafe’, genetics data is also revealing that the sharks of Guadalupe Island Mexico and the Ano Nuevo Group and Farallones Island population are probably distinct sub populations.

This July one of the earliest shark predation events at the Farallones was reported by the Shark Watch program consisting of biologists of the Point Reyes Bird Observatory (PRBO) program located on the island. Recently, a large white shark nuzzled the bow of a kayak off of Pigeon Point leaving a few teeth marks and a wide awake paddler. A skipper reported two very large sharks off Duxbury Reef and last week while we were on the opposite side of the Farallones, a white shark was observed feeding.

“Shark feeding on a Sea Lion in Fisherman’s bay!” The VHF radio crackled. The PRBO crew had witnessed a bright spot of blood, a struggling pinniped and then another hit as the shark claimed its victim. Not witnessed by our boat observing whales in Mirounga Bay or by the two cage diving operations anchored in the bay of East Landing, the event shows the randomness and good fortune one has to have to observe a white shark. A shadow in the water, a splash, a pool of bright red blood, or the occasional shark breach is what little we see or experience of sharks. With the tagging and genetic information we are gathering more insight to population size and dynamics. What this information is not telling us is how many white sharks are being caught on longlines or caught and finned illegally in their long passage across the ocean.

On one of the most fantastic days I have ever experienced on the Gulf, our SFBayWhaleWatching group spotted our first Humpback whales feeding mid-channel in calm sunny weather. The standard surface swimming, followed by predictable shallow dives gave us a view of the twin blow holes, humpy dorsal fin and knobby tail characteristic of this baleen whale. Further on, we were rewarded with two Blue whales lunge feeding, gasping, swimming and lurching forward, and later by more Humpbacks to the south of the island. Past the marine terrace, we entered Mirounga Bay, so called for the genus of Elephant Seal which is one of the white shark’s favorite meals.

Suddenly there is a splash, and then another and a huge white beast breaks the water. Nearby the ghostly shape of another lurks beneath the boat. Several passengers shriek as the shutters click away. Are they White sharks? No, we are surrounded by a huge school of Rizzo’s dolphins. Also known as Grampus, and considered by old sailors to be ghosts of drowned shipmates, these large blunt-headed whales are scarred and bleached over time. All around us the large Grampus swim and breach, including several young dolphins. Among the Grampus swam Northern Right Whale Dolphins, Pacific White Sided Dolphins and Common Dolphins. Captain Jimmy slowly steams through the middle of the pod and: whale ho! More Humpback whales feeding. We do not see a shark, but we know the sharks are here.

Sharktober. Local surfers call it Sharktober and when there is a shark sighting at Stinson Beach or Bolinas the news station and papers are quick to report it. When there is an attack, like that of a local surfer the press goes into a literal feeding frenzy. Like a recent newspaper article, reports are loaded with adjectives like “grisly death”, and “white sharks swarming”. What we don’t hear is the story: Man Bites Shark! For every shark attack on humans, there are hundreds of thousands of sharks killed each year, and every year.

We have a misconception of sharks extending from blind fear to the ironic but an ignorant symbol of a shark with a red slash though it seen on bumpers. Scientists have demonstrated that sharks play a vital role for a healthy ocean ecosystem. A new study has been published on the benefit of sharks on Caribbean reefs, further reinforcing the ecological importance of sharks. Sharks are the regulators of fish and marine mammals. They cull the weak and the sick, thereby strengthening the remaining population. The kill of a sea lion isn't a sad thing, it is a necessary event to help the population remain robust.

White Sharks are protected and the killing of sharks for fins is illegal in US waters. However, there are loopholes in our laws that allow some sharks to be finned and making the anti finning law difficult to enforce. We can protect our sharks in the Sanctuary, but little can be done when they enter international waters. Supporting our Sanctuaries, strengthening our existing regulations and stopping the consumption of shark products like shark fin soup can all help increase the protection of the pelagic sharks that visit our waters.

This October, Sea Stewards will be celebrating the shark with special shark awareness events including Farallones tours with San Francisco Bay Whale Watching, emphasizing the importance of sharks to the Bay and Sanctuary, as well as looking at the entire ecosystem of the Gulf of the Farallones from plankton to sharks.

Sea Stewards will be leading several expeditions including Oct 16^th with Leatherback Sea Turtle expert Dr. Chris Pincetech, October 24^th with Sherman’s Lagoon creator Jim Toomey, and culminating in a shark Halloween party on October 31^st. A percentage of the proceeds will go to Sea Stewards shark conservation and research program.

SFBay Whale Watching is donating a portion of it's "Sharktober" profits to SeaSteward's shark conservation and research program!"

Visit www.seastewards.org to find more information.

Photos and narration by David McGuire, Director SeaStewards.org. Blog by Kathleen Jacques.