Fishing boat has close encounter with humpback whale off Haida Gwaii

When David Ryan and his son Trevor set off for a day of fishing onthe coast of LangaraIsland the northernmost of Haida Gwaii'sIslandsthey were hoping to see plenty of salmon, but instead they had a close encounter with a humpback whale.

They were in Explorer Baywhen they first spotted the massive mammal off in the distance.

Minutes later, the whale broke through the surface of the water just meters away from their boat. Trevor had his camera rolling and managed to get the encounter on video.

David speculates the whale could've been drawn to a nearby "bait ball", which is when small fish swim in a tightly packed spherical formation. They'd noticed such a ball in their vicinity.

The experience had him awestruck.

"It was surreal," he says.

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