Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Sightings During a Survey of the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, British Columbia

• Published in: The Canadian Field-Naturalist
• Main Author: Holst, Meike
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club 2017
• Subjects: Dall’s Porpoise; Phocoenoides dalli; leatherback Turtle; Dermochelys coriacea; Northern Elephant Seal; Mirounga angustirostris; Sperm Whale; Physeter macrocephalus; Pacific White-sided Dolphins; Lagenorhynchus obliquidens; seismic survey; marine mammal; Endeavour; Pacific; Elephant Seal; Sperm whale; toothed whale
• Online Access: https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1873; https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v131i2.1873

Marine mammals and sea turtles were documented as part of a monitoring and mitigation program during a seismic study offshore (~250 km) from Vancouver island, British Columbia, during August–September 2009. Forty-one marine mammals in nine groups were sighted. Dall’s Porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) was the most frequently sighted species. A Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus), a pod of Pacific White-sided Dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), an unidentified toothed whale, a Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga angustirostris), and a leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) were also observed. These data augment current knowledge on the occurrence of marine mammals and sea turtles in the offshore waters of British Columbia.