The return of humpbacks to the Salish Sea is an encouraging success story for endangered species

Friday Harbor, Washington: When I first started visiting the San Juan Islands in the early 1990s, the place was known for its whales—particularly its resident orcas, who numbered nearly 100 in those days. Occasionally minke whales were spotted. But humpbacks, which had once numbered in the hundreds in the Salish Sea, were not among the cetaceans who populated those waters.

That began to change in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, when humpbacks were spotted occasionally, and then semi-regularly. By the early 2010s, they had become common, especially in the summer. Nowadays—especially with the Southern Resident killer whales only making occasional appearances—they are among the most likely whales for visitors to the islands to encounter. This year they set a record for sightings.