So many whales are cavorting off Marin’s coast that federal officials have issued a boating warning.
“We are alerting small boaters and large vessel operators to be on the alert for endangered whales, and to maintain minimum distances,” said Maria Brown, superintendent of the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.
On the Fourth of July, 115 endangered whales were documented during a one-hour survey near the Farallon Islands, she said.
To ease the threat of vessels striking whales, federal officials want large ships to slow to 10 knots in boat traffic lanes approaching San Francisco. Recreational boaters including fishermen should remain at least 300 feet away — the federal minimum distance guideline.
All whales are legally protected against harassment under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and blue, fin and humpback whales are listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Roger Thomas, the 80-year-old dean of the Bay Area salmon fleet who serves as skipper of Sausalito’s Salty Lady, said there seem to be more whales near shore this year than ever before.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “Whales are all over the place.”
Drawn in to feed on waves of krill and huge schools of anchovies, whales are showing up in numbers seldom seen this close to the coast, according to Thomas, who runs whale-watching trips for the Oceanic Society when the Salty Lady isn’t chartered by salmon fishermen.
On one recent Salty Lady trip to the Farallones, society day-trippers spotted several blue whales as well as 25 to 30 humpbacks, Thomas said. The whales surge close to the boat as it drifts along. “They come right up to you,” Thomas said.
The abundance of feed has made for a good salmon fishing season as well, the skipper said.
The Ross-based Oceanic Society offers trips with a naturalist for $128; call the society at 415-256-9604. Now is the time to go, said Nan Sincero, a society official.
“There are lots of humpbacks out there,” she noted. “They are feasting.”
