Salish Sea

The Salish Sea encompasses various coastal waterways to the south of Vancouver as well as the far north of Washington State, USA.
This area includes Puget Sound and the Straits of Georgia and Juan de Fuca, and the waters around San Juan Island and Gulf Islands. The Salish Sea displays a diverse marine ecosystem with over 200 species of fish, and between June and September humpback whales, Dall’s porpoises, Steller’s and California sea lions and harbour seals also inhabit the area.
The Salish Sea is notable for its orcas including a highly endangered resident population of fish-eating orcas and some transient orcas which feed mainly on mammals. Sadly, the resident orcas here are now very rare and continuing to decline due to toxins in the water and overfishing of Chinook salmon. However, it is still a great place to see transient (Bigg’s) orcas that hunt the abundant seals living in the seas there.
The marine life is best viewed on boat trips from Victoria on Vancouver Island or on longer day trips from Vancouver.