The false killer whales appear to be getting "closer."  Late this afternoon the satellite tagged animal moved south of the wind line although it was still considerably off-shore (~30 km) at last check.  We were a good distance away and not able to get to them today (the moved in very late). We hope they stay within range tomorrow and that the weather is also good so we have a chance to get lucky and find them!

Today we traveled by a group of spotted dolphins. Out here dolphins and whales are often followed by fisherman in hopes that the animals are associating with tuna and other game fish that the fisherman can catch. These spotted dolphins had fisherman nearby. The worry is that the dolphins might be occasionally caught in the troll fishing lines or otherwise might be disturbed by the boat/boat noise.  There are 5 spotted dolphins near the boat in the pic below.

(Photo: A. Mooney, NMFS permit # 15530 to CRC)