Humpback Whale migrations are staggered. Some individuals are still feeding off the coast of British Columbia in winter, leaving to migrate to the warm-water breeding grounds much later than other Humpbacks. Some return much earlier. As a result, there are Humpbacks Whales off the coast of BC in all months of the year.
In fact, the research of McMillan et al. (2025) found there were more Humpbacks in the Salish Sea from October to December than any other time of year.
This data contribution of Hourglass the Humpback Whale (BCZ0457) was made from land by Jode Morgan on December 4, 2025, near Vancouver Bay in the Discovery Islands.
Do any Humpbacks overwinter in the waters of British Columbia?
While it is possible that a very few do not migrate (see the research from southeast Alaska referenced below), to date, there are no data to support that any Humpback Whale in BC waters was here so long that they did not have time to migrate back and forth to the breeding grounds.
To prove that a Humpback had indeed overwintered in BC waters, there would need to be photographs showing the same whale in BC waters where there was no gap in sightings for 60 days or more. Sixty days is the minimum time for migration back and forth from the breeding grounds (of Hawaii) used in the research by Straley et al. (2018) that found that a very small number of Humpbacks (2%) near southeast Alaska did not migrate between 2007 and 2009.
Straley et al., 2018 found:
From 2007 to 2009, ” . . . we confirmed that four whales in PWS [Prince William Sound] and two whales in SS [Sitka Sound] did not make the winter migration to lower latitudes. These whales represent less than 2% of the number of individuals identified during this study. Two of the PWS whales that overwintered were a mother and her last year’s calf (now a yearling). The two whales that overwintered in SS were adults of unknown sex.“
What are Humpbacks doing in BC waters in winter?
They are still feeding. Baleen whales like Humpbacks feed in cold, plankton-rich waters. They lose a lot of weight when they migrate to and from the warm-water breeding grounds of Hawaii, Mexico, or Central America, where there is little to no food for them. From late summer into fall, there is also likely to be more competitive group behaviour between males in BC waters.
Would a whale not migrate if they had not bulked up enough?
This is unlikely. It is known that Grey Whales will migrate to the breeding grounds even when their reserves are so low that they run out of energy (become emaciated and die) on the return migration to the feeding grounds.
You may also recall the tragic reality of Moon the Humpback (BCX1232), who migrated to Hawaii even though her tail was broken and she could only use her pectoral fins to propel herself. She arrived in the breeding grounds emaciated and has not been seen since December 2022.
You can help!
There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what Humpbacks are doing in BC waters which can impact both the whales wellbeing and the safety of boaters (of the ~4,000 respondents who cared enough to fill in our boater survey, 40% erroneously answered that Humpbacks go to warm-water to feed).
Please help increase knowledge about how important BC’s waters are to the whales. They are feeding, resting, and socializing here even in winter which adds to how unpredictable their movements can be, and why all boaters must have year-round vigilance.
Please take our free, online, self-paced Whale-Safe Boating course.
Make your sightings count. If you have a photos of the Humpback, contribute your sightings to the Canadian Pacific Humpback Collaboration. www.BCHumpbacks.com
Also use the Whale Report app. Inputting your sightings leads to verified large vessels being alerted via the Whale Report Alert System (WRAS) for the purposes of avoiding whales.
Sources:
McMillan CJ, Keppel EA, Spaven LD, Hrushowy SM, Doniol-Valcroze T. 2025 Aug 27. Seasonal Abundance and Distribution of Cetaceans in a High-Traffic Shipping Corridor. Marine Mammal Science.
NOAA Fisheries. (2025, June 18). Eastern North Pacific Gray Whales Continue Decline After Downturn During Unusual Mortality Event. NOAA Fisheries. Retrieved December 22, 2025, from https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/eastern-north-pacific-gray-whales-continue-decline-after-downturn-during-unusualNOAA Fisheries
Straley, J. M., J. R. Moran, K. M. Boswell, J. J. Vollenweider, R. A. Heintz, T. J. Quinn II, B. H. Witteveen, and S. D. Rice. 2018. Seasonal presence and potential influence of humpback whales on wintering Pacific herring populations in the Gulf of Alaska. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography.
Some more examples (of MANY) of Humpbacks
in BC waters in winter.
