Once more, we bid these ocean giants farewell, and once more, we can proudly say that the whale season was a total success.
Here is a quick summary of our whale season 2022–2023:

2022-2023 Humpback whale research outings

We conducted our Humpback Whale Research Monitoring in Banderas Bay for the fourth year in a row.

What is exactly and what do we do during an outing?

The outings involve trips to the sea to search for, document, and photograph the ventral part of humpback whale tails. Documentation includes noting the time of sighting, coordinates, number of whales seen, behavior, and so on.

This information is useful in order to know: abundance, migratory routes, reproductive cycles, time of stay in the bay, number of offspring, and losses.

Our research outings are carried out thanks to the support provided by Fundación Ecológica Biomar A.C, Stanley W. Ekstrom Foundation, Opequimar Centro Marino, and Ecotours de México.

Venom in Banderas Bay

Venom (3BB035) is one of the oldest whales in category 3 of the Banderas Bay Humpback Whale Photo-identification Catalog (FIBB Catalog).

We’ve known him since 2001 and since then he’s been back again during 13 different seasons! We recently saw him in the bay in a large courtship group, where it is common to see him fight aggressively with other whales. Due to this behavior, we assume he is a male.

This whale feeds in California during the summer and then migrates south to Banderas Bay and Guerrero to breed during the winter.

Dissemination of good practices

Every season, the ECOBAC team and its volunteers go out to different points within Banderas Bay to promote good navigation practices.

Every two weeks, flyers with information on whale-watching guidelines were distributed to tourists and boat personnel in the Opequimar marina.
Kuikani, our life-size inflatable humpback calf, was displayed every other Thursday in Marina Vallarta in order to educate more people.
We gave talks at the La Cruz de Huanacaxtle marina to educate people about safe navigation practices.

We would like to thank all of our volunteers for their assistance in carrying out these activities!

Whales are leaving but we are still on alert

Look out for updates on this season’s rescues very soon!

Thank you for your help!

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this season´s success, particularly Fundación Ecológica Biomar, Ecotours Vallarta, Opequimar Centro Marino, RIU Hotels and Resorts, WWF México, and our RABEN volunteers.

Many thanks to PV Sailing’s Katrina Liana and Michael Danielson, as well as the Marina Riviera Nayarit.

We also thank the following volunteers for their assistance during the whale season: Azucena, Olivia, Mariana, Monse, Lupita, Abril, Dani, Katie, Ashley, Amy, and Lola. Also, a big thanks to Professor Julio Arriaga, the Harkness Institute school, and his students: Belén, Sally, Nicksy, Arturo, and Antonio.