On the whale watch

They’re looking for a fin, a tail, or a spout.

The scientists would settle for a minke or a humpback, but an orca would be ideal.

A few miles out, Lawson — who’s behind the wheel — stops the craft and says he hasn’t seen anything but seabirds.

“Which is good because if there are seabirds around — especially that puffin carrying a fish — there’s clearly fish around, but I haven’t seen anything bigger,” says Lawson, a research scientist with Fisheries and Ocean’s marine mammal section.

Ultimately, he and Stevens are searching for answers about killer whales.

There’s little data on Atlantic Canada’s orcas.

It’s not known what they eat or where they winter, let alone if they are at risk.

Lawson notes the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) is interested in the animals for that very reason.

So in 2006, a study of killer whales off this province was launched.

Lawson has been involved since the get-go, as has Stevens, who’s doing her PhD thesis on the animal.

“Tara will be looking at how they might be impacting other whales in the area, how many minkes they might be eating, how long are they resident in our waters, are they fish eaters or mammals or both,” explains Lawson.

The answers to such questions will feed into a COSEWIC assessment on the status of killer whales.

On this dark day — sunny in St. John’s, foggy a trawler length outside The Narrows — nothing has happened to add to their research.

Five nautical miles away from Petty Harbour — which can’t be seen through the fog, but is to the right, according to the GPS — Stevens drops an underwater recorder overboard.

She explains it records everything from whales and dolphins to engines and heavy waves.

To avoid being recorded, Lawson motors away from the device and cuts the engine.

He waits for the recorder to collect data and a short while later, after Stevens retrieves the device, he steers the zodiac north towards Logy Bay. Some killer whales have been reported there recently.

The fog might be dense and the sky grey, but the sea is calm which should make it easier to spot any orca activity.

Off Memorial University’s marine lab, Lawson turns around and starts heading back.

There are no signs of whales. Besides the incredible number of gulls on the reddish cliffs, the only movement is a large, blue offshore supply vessel, which in the foggy distance is as ominous as the Black Pearl from “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

The gull population swells like a heavy sea off the Robin Hood Bay landfill.

The zodiac goes past Quidi Vidi Gut and there’s still no sign of a whales.

Motoring towards The Narrows — and getting closer and closer to base — it’s looking less likely Lawson and Stevens will see anything this trip.

“It would be normal not to see killer whales,” says Lawson, back on the Coast Guard dock. “Usually we’ll see humpbacks or fin whales depending on the time of year. Minke whales, dolphins, things like that. But to see killer whales, good luck.”

It’s not the first time they haven’t seen anything. They usually only encounter orcas one or twice a year. It’s literally like trying to find Nemo.

“It’s not so much they are rare,” Lawson explains, “but it’s a huge area we are trying to cover.”

Which shows the importance of all the recently-witnessed whale activity off the province’s shores — you may have heard about the orcas attacking minkes.

“Tara will be looking at how they might be impacting other whales in the area, how many minkes they might be eating, how long are they resident in our waters, are they fish eaters or mammals or both.” - Scientist Jack Lawson

The researchers have been sent hundreds of pictures and many videos from the sightings, and they’re open to more.

“That’s really important to us for a lot of reasons,” Lawson says. “We just can’t afford to be out on the water all the time. We also can’t afford to be scattered all over the island. So that people are contributing videos and images is critical for us.”

The items will be put into a catalogue — and track — the animals.

So far this summer, Lawson says, five killer whales have been identified from previous years.

The researchers encourage people to call when they see an orca. Lawson’s office is 709-772-2285. Stevens is at 617-620-7463 (she’s from Maine and that’s her cell).

If the sighting is close to St. John’s, they’ll try to get there. If it’s to far away, they’ll try to get someone to collect desired data and details.

One thing that concerns Lawson about the killer whale sightings is the number of people chasing the animals.

He says in Mobile recently it was apparent the whales were being pursued by numerous boats.

“They were definitely harassing the animals, moving them away,” he says.

Lawson suggests giving them some space, that chasing orcas can be risky because of their size and power.

It’s estimated the killer whale population off Atlantic Canada is somewhere around 200.

The spate of recent sightings has some suggesting the numbers could be growing.

Stevens says there’s no way of knowing because there’s little data prior to 2006.

“It could be there are more people out there looking at whales and taking photos,” Lawson adds, “or it could be a change in distribution.”

But as predators who are at the top of the marine food chain, why aren’t killer whales more common and why hasn’t their population exploded?

Those are some of the questions Lawson would like to answer.

He says back in the Second World War and when there was commercial whaling, orcas were often killed.

The whalers would kill the killers because they’d feed on the carcasses of fin whales that had been harpooned.

During the war, pods of orcas would be attacked from the air to protect sailors who fell in the ocean after being torpedoed by U-Boats.

“Through all those things, maybe the population was reduced by the ’70s or ’80s and maybe now it’s returning,” Lawson suggests.

He and Stevens hope to tag some killer whales this fall with devices that will track their movement for a month or so.

They’re also doing some co-operative research with St. Pierre et Miquelon.

Stevens believes it’s important to know more about the orcas.

“Because they are top predators and they have the capacity to impact other species that are commercially important here,” she says.

It wasn’t all bad luck for the scientists on this day. A short while after The Telegram left, they got a report of orcas seven miles north of St. John’s. Lawson and Stevens went back out and were able to do some research on a pod of six or seven.

sbartlett@thetelegram.com