Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area

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10/07/2026

Along with the trailer release of our upcoming short documentary “Whales in a Changing Ocean,” today is also the birthday of our fearless leader Holly Snyder Lohuis !! 🎂🐋🎊

Holly’s passion for ocean wildlife extends far past her role as Co-Director of SBCWHA. As a marine biologist, naturalist, and environmental educator, you won’t find Holly too far from the sea. Through programs like Santa Barbara Maritime Museum’s Maritime on the Move, and Girls in Ocean Science, or Island Packers Floating Classrooms, Holly’s dedication to inspiring the next generation is just one of the many reasons we’re proud to call her our own 💙 With years of experience with whales and ocean wildlife around the world, we are inspired by her passion for ocean stewardship everyday!

Everyone wish Holly Snyder Lohuis a happy birthday! 🥳Nice 🎈 snag keeping our backyard and its wildlife safe! Aboard SANTA BARBARA WHALE WATCH

09/29/2026

Yesterday was an incredible day for our in the channel! 🫍 Island Packers was first on scene with this incredible group of 7 killer whales. Throughout the day, SANTA BARBARA WHALE WATCH Condor Express Whale Watching and Channel Islands Expeditions also got on scene to enjoy these apex predators. Killer whales are vitally important to ocean ecosystems, regulating food chains and maintaining balance in our oceans. The Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage area is a crucial feeding area for these whales as they transit the west coast. It is always exciting to see this iconic family and share their stories amongst all of our passengers! 🙌🏻

Photos and videos by media director 𝘼𝘿𝘼𝙈 𝙀𝙍𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍 aboard SANTA BARBARA WHALE WATCH

09/08/2026

Join us for our third annual “WHALE of a CELEBRATION,” event! Details below 👇🏻

Whale of a Celebration is a joyous event dedicated to honoring the wonderful whales that grace local waters and celebrate the Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area. The weekend festivities include a wildlife cruise aboard Condor Express, guest lectures from Sean Hastings, Policy, Management and Information Officer for NOAA’s Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, and “Whales, Ales, and Cocktails” Film Festival screening a new short film produced by local wildlife filmmaker Adam Ernster. “WHALES in a CHANGING OCEAN,” explores how the Santa Barbara Channel acts as a microcosm for the vastness of our planet’s oceans. Temperature variations change from year to year, currents shift, and whale migrations vary as prey abundances are dynamic. As our Oceans change, so too does its largest inhabitants. Learn from scientists, whale watchers, and ocean lovers through the lens of blue, gray, and humpback whales and what their presence might tell us about our oceans.

The schedule
Friday, October 23rd, 2026
● 6:30 pm - Join us at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History for a special evening celebrating the 3-Year Anniversary of the Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area! Enjoy guest lecturer Sean Hastings, Policy, Management and Information Officer for NOAA’s Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, and founder of Blue Whales Blue Skies. Local wildlife filmmaker Adam Ernster will unveil a new film highlighting the changes we’ve seen in whale behavior in an ever-dynamic seascape.

The fee is $75. Part of the proceeds will support The Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area’s ongoing education and outreach programs.

Sunday, Oct 25, 2026
● 10 am - 2:00 pm: Condor Express
Join local experts and scientists on board Condor Express Whale Watching for an unparalleled wildlife cruise in the heart of the Santa Barbara Channel.

The whale watching tickets are $150 each. Bundle your tickets for both days and save $25! Bundles are $200!

Click the link in our bio to purchase your tickets today! 🎟️

08/28/2026

🐋 WHALE OF A CELEBRATION IS BACK! 🌊

Join us this October for a weekend celebrating 3 years of the Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area! And of course, the incredible whales that call our local waters home.

🎥 Friday, October 23 | Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History SB Museum of Natural History

Spend an evening with fellow ocean lovers, and scientists, featuring a special guest lecture from Sean Hastings of NOAA’s Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies More featured guest speakers to be announced soon! Followed by Whales, Ales & Cocktails and the premiere of a brand-new short film:

WHALES IN A CHANGING OCEAN

The film explores the Santa Barbara Channel as a window into our changing oceans, following blue, gray, and humpback whales to understand how shifting conditions are influencing the lives of the world’s largest animals. A film by 𝘼𝘿𝘼𝙈 𝙀𝙍𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍

Tickets to the lecture night are $75 🎟️

🐋 Sunday, October 25 | 10 AM–2 PM
Take the celebration out onto the water aboard Condor Express! Join local scientists and whale experts for a special wildlife cruise through the heart of the Santa Barbara Channel Condor Express Whale Watching

🎟️ Whale watch tickets are $150, with a portion of the proceeds supporting the Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area’s education and outreach programs, helping us get school groups out to enjoy the whales.

✨ Bundle your tickets and save yourself $25! ✨

Come celebrate our whales, our ocean, and the incredible community working to protect them. 🌊🐋
Tickets are available now — link in bio!

08/18/2026

Wildlife filmmaker and Media Director for SBCWHA 𝘼𝘿𝘼𝙈 𝙀𝙍𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍 reflects on his past encounters with “Flue,” the blue whale/ fin whale hybrid. This week marked 6 years since this mysterious whale was last confirmed in the SBCWHA 🐋

What makes this whale so special? What is it like to see him? What does the future look like for this iconic whale? Find out in our latest blog linked below!

https://www.sbwhaleheritage.org/the-mystery-of-flue-six-years-since-his-last-sighting-in-the-santa-barbara-channel/

Written by Adam Ernster ✍🏼

08/14/2026

Thank you for all the love on our last post about “FLUE,” the fin whale/ blue whale hybrid! There were LOTS of questions about this one in a million animal 🐋

We’ve answered a few below 👇🏻

Q : Does “Flue,” associate more with Fin Whales or Blue Whales?
A : Blue Whales! As you can see in this clip, Flue likes the hang out with fellow blue whales. Each time he’s been spotted in the SBCWHA, Flue has been seen intermixed with ~12 blue whales.

Q : Given his genetic makeup (61.5 fin whale, 31.5 blue whale), were his parents hybrid too?
A : Results from his genetic makeup indicate Flue has a blue whale mother and a fin whale father!

Q : Is Flue the same size as a normal blue whale?
A : Yes! This video shows Flue is just as large as a fully grown blue whale. We estimate him to be ~75+ feet long!

Q : Is there other blue whale/ fin whale hybrids?
A : Yes! Blue whale/ fin whale hybrids have been documented back to the whaling era. While there is thought to be another hybrid in this population, what makes Flue unique is that he is confirmed a hybrid by a genetic sample collected in 2015 by Oregon State University. There are thought to be other hybrids around the world, but we can’t say for certain without genetic confirmation!

Q : How can you tell it’s a hybrid?
A : Flue looks more like a large fin whale with his large dorsal fin, chevron marking on the back, but has some characteristics of a blue whale, ie : dark lower right jaw, faint mottling on back, tail fluke of a blue, and association with blue whales.

Q : Does Flue have trouble talking to other whales?
A : We don’t think so! Flue has often been referred to as the “loneliest whale,” based on a 2021 documentary called “The Loneliest Whale : The search for 52.” Records of an unidentified whale call have been detected going back to 1989. This 52 hertz frequency was theorized to be too high to communicate with other large whales that communicate between 10 and 40 hertz. Based on his close associations with dozens of Blue Whales, Flue doesn’t seem to be lonely at all! 🐋

To find out more about this iconic whale, click the research paper linked below! 🔗 Video by Adam Ernster Photography aboard Condor Express Whale Watching

08/10/2026

This week marks 6 years since we’ve had a confirmed sighting of “FLUE,” the blue whale/ fin whale hybrid in the SBCWHA by one of our responsible tour operators 🐋

One of the rarest whales swimming the high seas, Flue is the only confirmed, living blue whale/ fin whale hybrid in the world. He was first sighted by Cascadia Research Collective back in 2004, and then later biopsy darted by Oregon state university in 2015, confirming him to be 68.5% fin whale and 31.5% blue whale. He appears more like a fin whale (large dorsal fin, faint chevron on the back), but has some characteristics of blue whales (dark lower right jaw, faint mottling, puts up his massive fluke like a blue). Satellite tag data revealed he spent a lot of time around San Miguel island, Santa Lucia bank, and the Davidson Sea Mount in 2015.

FLUE remains one of the greatest mysteries in our oceans and is an iconic symbol of just how vast our oceans are. A nearly 80 foot whale roams undetected by the vast majority of human eyes. Although it’s been sometime since he has been seen in the channel, whale lover and regular whale watching passenger Joy Harp saw Flue in the Sea of Cortez earlier this year! It is great to know this incredible animal is still out there roaming the high seas.

Drone video by media director 𝘼𝘿𝘼𝙈 𝙀𝙍𝙉𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍 from June 2020 aboard Condor Express Whale Watching

05/31/2026

Our monthly newsletter will be going out later today, with some exciting updates from the channel including recent sightings, a disentanglement training update, information on // “SEE A SPOUT,” course, and an announcement for our THIRD ANNUAL WHALE OF A CELEBRATION 🎉 🥳

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter today using the link in our bio! 🔗

Address

Santa Barbara, CA

Telephone

+18055880557

Website

https://www.sbwhaleheritage.org/

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