SoCal Whale Watching

02/15/2025

Happy Valentine's Day! This weekend is a great time for an unforgettable experience with someone special. There's nothing more romantic than a beautiful boat ride among the dolphins and whales. The dolphin shows have been incredible this month!

02/12/2025

We are just about to the middle of Gray Whale season where we briefly can spot them migrating BOTH directions! Here's hoping for a successful and healthy migration leading to lots of babies passing by on their way back to Alaska!

02/11/2025

Even though it's Gray Whale season, we still have many other marine mammals in our waters this time of year! We saw a HUGE fin whale during Sunday's 5 hour custom bird watching charter. This whale was near Catalina Island, which is why we recommend our extended expeditions for serious searching!

02/10/2025

Gray Whale season is truly a special time of year here in SoCal! These whales are on an epic migration through our local waters every Winter and are known for approaching boats just to interact with the people on board. Of all our encounters with different species throughout the years, Gray Whales have created some of the most touching and unforgettable!

01/22/2025

Help us raise money for local wildfire recovery as we do our part to protect our ocean!

You can donate once or pledge an amount per balloon picked up. We’ll be running this balloon-a-thon to the end of January and donating what we raise to wildfire recovery efforts.

Ocean Cleanup Drive for LA Wildfire Victims

12/04/2024

A couple of shots from our private lunge feeding show on Saturday! This Humpback was feasting on anchovies, giving our guests an unforgettable experience.

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10/22/2024

Humpback Whale season has been in full swing lately! The action continues and the weather has been great. The last few days we’ve had upwards of 10 or more individuals plus a few Fin Whales just in San Pedro channel! Here are a couple of shots of the very unique juvenile humpback we’re calling Freckles who passed through last week. 📷 by Jessamy

09/19/2024

Phewww what’s that smell?! If you’re ever cruising and smell somethin funky on the wind, there’s a good chance there’s a Minke whale nearby! All whales are relatively smelly, but Minkes are especially pungent, likely because of their fishy and krill-packed diet! Due to large populations of baitfish off of Southern CA, we are fortunate to have Minke sightings year-round. Come join us on a tour and smell for yourself! 👃🏼🐋💨🦐🐟

09/15/2024

Absolutely perfect weekend on the water in Long Beach! We love seeing active common dolphins as they cruise along our coast with their pod. Common dolphin pods average anywhere from 20-200 individuals (with the occasional megapod of 1,000+!) and are always a treat for our guests!

📸 Naturalist Jessamy

09/11/2024

Hope everyone is having a fin-tastic start to the week! Fin whales are an incredible species we have the privilege to see throughout the year as they feed on baitfish and krill off Southern California. The Fin whale gets it’s name from their falcate dorsal fin 2/3 of the way down its back🐋

📸 Naturalist Jessamy

09/05/2024

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a….Mola mola?! They are more typically seen lazily laying at the surface sun bathing, however, Mola molas can also full-body breach out of the water when they’re in the mood for a belly flop!

📸 Naturalist Jessamy

08/28/2024

Streamlined bodies allow Common dolphins to cut through the water with ease. Pods of Common dolphin can reach incredible speeds up to 35mph when they choose, referred to as a dolphin stampede 🐬

📸 Naturalist Jessamy

08/15/2024

Fin whales are a species that can be seen year-round off Long Beach. So far this summer they’ve been enjoying a bounty of krill off Southern California alongside their larger counterpart, the Blue whale. We look for the white jaw on the right side of a Fin whale’s rostrum (or head) to identify them. Fin whales are asymmetrically colored with “white on right” and dark brown to black on the left side of their rostrum.

08/13/2024

Sea lions will find just about any surface to haul out and take a nap, this spot looks pretty toasty! Sea lions are seen in Long Beach year round and belong to an estimated population of ~250,000!

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08/11/2024

Common dolphin are amazing acrobats displaying a variety of breaches, tail slaps, belly flops, tail walks, and more! Southern CA is home to one of the largest concentrated populations of common dolphin in the world, making them a frequent sighting for us🐬

08/05/2024

Not only do we see whales and dolphins on our tours, but also amazing pinnipeds like the Guadalupe fur seal! They may look very similar to a sea lion, but we look for their distinctive ear flaps and “jug handling” behavior. Jug handling is done at the surface while resting and warming up; fur seals will hold their flippers together away from their body resembling a jug handle.

The Guadalupe fur seal is listed as a threatened species, with a population estimated to be about 34,000 individuals. These fur seals are protected by law in the United States ()

07/27/2024

When you want an idea of what’s going on in the ocean, look to the sky!

Seabirds are “sentinels” of ocean health. As they’re more visible, seabird populations can provide a barometer for the health of our marine ecosystem.

Additionally, observing seabirds like this Tern feeding, indicates what prey marine mammals are feeding on while out on a whale watch. In this case, schooling bait fish is on the menu!