SRKW Annual 2025
2025 Salish Sea Southern Resident Killer Whale Annual Sightings
We define a sighting as a unique group of whales seen on a unique day, and the location of each dot indicates where a group was first reported for that day.
Sightings within the Salish Sea were down over 30% compared to 2024 and down 10% compared to the 10-year average. For the six months spanning April to September, for which the central Salish Sea used to be considered their core habitat, it was the second lowest year on record in terms of number of days they were present, with only 2021 having been lower. The months they were here the most were September, March, and April, while they were not here any day of the month in May, June, or August.
Overall, SRKW sightings now vary widely from year to year and are now much less predictable than they used to be. It's hard to draw any conclusions from one year of data, or a comparison between two years, but we believe the primary reason they have altered their patterns is due to shifting availability of their primary prey, Chinook salmon. This has been well documented in the scientific literature in papers published by us and others.
