The damaged dorsal fin of a humpback whale is seen in the waters of the Georgia Strait, B.C., in a Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Sara Jenkins (Mandatory Credit)

By The Canadian Press

A timeline of boat strikes and entanglements involving humpbacks in B.C. waters

Oct 28, 2025 | 12:35 PM

There’s been a surge in boat strikes and entanglements involving humpbacks in British Columbia waters, two of them thought to have been fatal to the whales.

Here are some recent incidents.

Oct. 23: A Prince of Whales whale-watching boat hits a humpback in Howe Sound. A whale known as Wisp is found dead days later in the same area.

Oct. 22: A humpback known as Astroboy is disentangled from 140 metres of rope in waters near Nanaimo.

Oct. 17: A Hullo Ferries vessel strikes a whale near Vancouver’s English Bay. A humpback calf is later spotted with a deep gash in its back.

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Sept. 24: A humpback known as Fader is untangled from fishing gear in a six-hour operation off the coast of Nanaimo.

Sept. 17: The Northern Expedition, a BC Ferries vessel, strikes a whale in Wright Sound near Prince Rupert. A dead humpback is found nearby the next day.

Sept. 4: An operation begins near Texada Island off the Sunshine Coast to untangle fishing gear from a young humpback known as Tutu. The effort lasts three days.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2025.

The Canadian Press