Observations of Cetaceans off 

 California, Oregon, and Washington 



by 



CLIFFORD H. FISCUS and KARLNIGGOL 



ABSTRACT 



Records are given of 16 species of cetaceans observed off the west coast of the 

 United States between Cortes Bank, Calif., and Cape Flattery, Wash., fronn Febru- 

 ary through April 1958, January through April 1959, and November 1960 through 

 April 1961. Most of the observations were made off California. The survey vessels 

 operated in the area from the 100-fathom curve out to about 100 miles offshore. 

 Specimens of Delphinus , Lagenorhynchus , Orcinus , and Phocoenoides were collected. 

 Weights, measurements, and stomach analyses are included in the paper. 



INTRODUCTION 



Published records of cetaceans observed or 

 captured along the Pacific coast of North 

 America do not indicate accurately their dis- 

 tribution or numbers. These records give the 

 impression of greater scarcity and a nnore 

 restricted distribution than is true. Few people 

 who go to sea are able to identify porpoises 

 and whales. The whaling industry is a good 

 source of information, but for many years 

 whaling by the United States and Canada has 

 been limited to part of the coast of California 

 and British Columbia, or has been nonexistent. 

 The operations of fishermenby area and season 

 leave vast expanses unvisited. Usually,, fisher- 

 men ignore cetaceans unless they interfere with 

 fishing, as schools of porpoises ( Stenella ) do 

 when they are caught along with tuna during 

 purse seining (McNeely, 1961; Hester, Hunter, 

 and Whitney, 1963). 



Reported sightings of cetaceans obviously 

 tend to be nnost frequent where research 

 vessels operate most continuously. We believe 

 that cetaceans are a much more important part 

 of the ocean fauna than is generally realized. 

 Except for the killer whale, their feeding is not 

 spectacular or takes place at such a depth that 

 it is not observed. Thus, they do not attract 

 attention, as seals and sea lions do, by their 

 predation. The ecological influence of their 

 feeding may be much greater than suspected. 



Note.~Clifford H. Fiscus. Wildlife Biologist (Research) , 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries Marine Mammal Biologi- 

 cal Laboratory, Seattle, Wash.; and Karl Niggol, Wildlife 

 Biologist (Research), now employed by the Bureau of Com- 

 mercial Fisheries Fish Passage Research Program, 

 Portland, Oreg. 



Currently, small cetaceans are very popular 

 as performing captives in marine aquaria and 

 as objects of research on hydrodynamics and 

 underwater echolocation. 



During pelagic fur seal investigations by the 

 Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in the coastal 

 waters off California, Oregon, and Washington 

 in 1958-61, records were made of cetaceans 

 observed. We were on separate vessels, and 

 each of us usually had three assistants aboard. 

 Watches were maintained at sea from 0600 to 

 1800 daily. We spent from 15 to 2 full days 

 per month at sea during a total of about 10 

 months. 



The primary function of the vessel and crew 

 was to obtain data and specimens of fur seals, 

 and the observation of cetaceans was incidental. 

 The vessel was directed to get a close look at 

 cetaceans only when seals had not been sighted. 

 No effort was made to go to an area because 

 porpoises or whales could be expected there. 

 In fact, however, an abundance of food, such 

 as schools of anchovies ( Engraulis mordax), 

 attracted both seals and cetaceans. 



Men on watch at the time of observation 

 nnade the identifications. Only positively iden- 

 tified cetaceans were recorded; about 50 per- 

 cent of the large whales and 90 percent of the 

 smaller cetaceans seen could be identified. 



The area cruised by the vessels extends 

 from CortesBank off California (lat. 32° 30' N.) 

 north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca between 

 Washington and British Columbia (lat. 48° 

 30' N,). Generally, we concentrated our atten- 

 tion on waters from the 100-fathom (fm.) curve 

 out to about 100 miles offshore. 



Some measure of the frequency of observa- 

 tions, distance covered in making them, and 

 location of areas cruised where no cetaceans 

 were seen is desirable. This is done crudely 



