Report Your Sightings

Orcas at East Point, courtesy Miles Ritter

Thieves Bay Marina, courtesy of Dave Reed

If you see a marine mammal at a Whale Trail site, please tell us about it! Share your stories, pictures, or video with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or through our online submission form.

ORCA SIGHTINGS

If you see cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), it is important to also report your sighting to a sightings network.

In Washington State, report your sightings to Orca Network.
- Call 866-672-2638 (toll free) or 360-678-3451
- Email info@orcanetwork.org
In Canada, report your sightings to the Whale Report App
- - For iOS: WhaleReport on the App Store
  - For Android: WhaleReport – Apps on Google Play
  - On the web: WhaleReport
  - Call 1-866-I-SAW-ONE (1-866-472-9663)
  - Email sightings@ocean.org

These organizations will ensure that your sightings are sent to the agencies responsible for managing the orca populations and other at-risk whale, dolphin, and porpoise species.

What information should be included in your sightings report?

Date and time of sighting
Type of animal (or best guess)
Number of animals (how many do you see?)
Direction of travel (which way are they going?)
Behaviors (what are they doing?)
Include a photo!

How your sightings help?

While the southern resident orcas are one of the most highly studied populations of animals in the world, most of what we know is based on observing them in the summer months.

From October to February, we know they return to central Puget Sound approximately 5 – 7 times a month. But where they otherwise go is largely still unknown.
By sharing your sighting with the networks, you will play a vital role in the research and management that will lead, we hope, to a fully recovered orca population.

Send a Sighting. Save a Whale! Real-time sightings reported to Orca Network and Whale Report by community members are used to inform the Whale Report Alert System (WRAS). Launched by Ocean Wise in 2019, the WRAS is an alert system that broadcasts pertinent details of whale presence in real time to registered large commercial vessels (ferries, tugs, freighters, and cargo ships). The alerts inform shipmasters and pilots of whales in their vicinity and better enables vessels to undertake adaptive mitigation measures, such as slowing down or altering course, to reduce the risk of collision and disturbance.