{"id":556803,"date":"2026-03-24T05:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T05:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/556803\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T05:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T05:12:12","slug":"first-official-humpback-whale-sighting-of-the-season-confirmed-off-nanaimo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/556803\/","title":{"rendered":"First official humpback whale sighting of the season confirmed off Nanaimo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Spring has officially arrived in the Salish Sea, at least for whale watchers.<\/p>\n<p>Vancouver Island Whale Watch says the first humpback whale of the 2026 season has been spotted just off Nanaimo, marking the start of the marine mammals\u2019 annual return to B.C. waters.<\/p>\n<p>The young whale, identified as HW-MN0445366, was first seen March 21 after migrating thousands of kilometres north from its wintering grounds. Researchers were able to match the whale to a sighting in Hawaii late last year, offering a glimpse into its migration route.<\/p>\n<p>Humpbacks generally spend their winters in Hawaii, Mexico and Central America where they breed and give birth, travelling back to the nutrient-rich Salish Sea to feed on krill and small fish, according to the whale-watching company.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re absolutely thrilled to see our first humpback of the season,\u201d said Cheyenne Brewster of Vancouver Island Whale Watch. \u201cIt\u2019s what we wait for all winter, and it marks the beginning of what we expect to be a busy and exciting season.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With one confirmed sighting, more humpbacks are expected to arrive in the region in the coming weeks as the seasonal migration continues.<\/p>\n<p>Early sightings have already been reported from shore, with Neck Point Park in Nanaimo identified as a prime viewing location.<\/p>\n<p>The return of humpbacks comes after a troubling end to 2025, when multiple whale deaths were reported in B.C. waters.<\/p>\n<p>In November, a humpback was <a href=\"https:\/\/cheknews.ca\/another-humpback-whale-found-dead-in-the-salish-sea-1288733\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/cheknews.ca\/another-humpback-whale-found-dead-in-the-salish-sea-1288733\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">found dead near Lasqueti Island<\/a>. It was the second confirmed death in just over two weeks, with vessel strikes among the leading suspected threats.<\/p>\n<p>Experts say as humpback populations recover and spend more time in coastal waters, interactions with boats are increasing, raising concerns about collisions and disturbances.<\/p>\n<p>Officials continue to urge mariners to remain vigilant, watch for signs of whale activity and follow safe boating guidelines.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1313348\" data-id=\"1313348\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1024 \/ 683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260321-_DSC6498.jpg\"  \/>The first official humpback whale sighting of spring, identified as HW-MN0445366, was first seen March 21 off of Nanaimo. (Vancouver Island Whale Watching)<img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1313349\" data-id=\"1313349\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1024 \/ 683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260321-_DSC6501-1.jpg\"  \/>The first official humpback whale sighting of spring, identified as HW-MN0445366, was first seen March 21 off of Nanaimo. (Vancouver Island Whale Watching)<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1313350\" data-id=\"1313350\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1024 \/ 683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260321-_DSC6515.jpg\"  \/>The first official humpback whale sighting of spring, identified as HW-MN0445366, was first seen March 21 off of Nanaimo. (Vancouver Island Whale Watching)<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"520\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-1313351\" data-id=\"1313351\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1024 \/ 683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260321-_DSC6529.jpg\"  \/>The first official humpback whale sighting of spring, identified as HW-MN0445366, was first seen March 21 off of Nanaimo. (Vancouver Island Whale Watching)<a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"\/><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"\/><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spring has officially arrived in the Salish Sea, at least for whale watchers. Vancouver Island Whale Watch says&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[49,48,66,323],"class_list":["post-556803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}