06/26/2026
Here is a recap of May killer whale sightings in the Salish Sea. In many ways it reflected what we've come to expect in May by these two simple numbers: Bigg's killer whales present all 31 days of the month for the sixth consecutive year, and a total absence of Southern Residents for the fifth time in the last ten years.
May used to herald the start of the summer season for seeing Southern Residents in and around the San Juan Islands, but now all three pods spend more time on the outer coast, particularly in the Swiftsure Bank region, during the late spring and early summer; this allows them to encounter a wider variety of fish runs, rather than follow the formerly abundant Fraser Chinook more exclusively.
Looking at the last five years from June through August, there's only a single month (June 2024) that we had Southern Residents present for more than half the days of the month. We are likely to only get brief visits from them until the fall.
As fishermen we know there is an abundance of chinook salmon in and around Victoria, the San Juan and Gulf Islands so prey availability is not the issue locally here on the south island - in part due to the valuable efforts of hatchery programs on both sides of the border.
The big question is - why does DFO continue to propose SRKW salmon fishing restrictions when the SRKW are not visiting our region for most of the prime summer fishing season?
SVIAC will continue to advocate that we already have sound fisheries management restrictions in place and don’t need unfounded and punitive DFO closures piled on-top of existing conservation measures!
