Long-beaked dolphin sightings around Island linked to El Niño

Two long-beaks have been spotted swimming at separate locations around the north Island this month, far from their usual range.

Two long-beaked common dolphins have been spotted swimming at three separate locations around the north Island this month, far from their usual range. They were likely brought to the area by warmer water associated with El Niño weather events, researchers say. The long-beaked dolphin typically lives along the Pacific coast between Mexico and central California.

It differs from other dolphins with its longer rostrum and arrays of 47 to 67 pairs of small sharp teeth in each jaw — more than any other dolphin species. Stephanie Lacasse was working at a Grieg Seafood salmon farm in Esperanza Inlet near Tahsis on July 3 when she noticed what she thought was a white-sided dolphin breaching and tail slapping. She started photographing its movements over several days in the inlet and later identified it as a long-beaked dolphin.

“It was jumping and spy hopping and eating a lot of herring in the area,” Lacasse said in an interview. “It was pretty special to see. And then finding out it was very rare made it really amazing.”

Researchers identified it as a juvenile dolphin. A few days later, on July 8, Jeannine McCormack and Nate Small had a group of guests out watching for whales aboard their Port McNeill-based Seasmoke Whale Watching vessel when they spotted another long-beaked dolphin north of Malcolm Island in open water. The Marine Education and Research Society was able to match the nicks on the dorsal fin of the long-beak near Malcolm Island to one spotted in another encounter by Leo Cox of Berry Island Lodge, who photographed the same dolphin on July 4 in Knight Inlet.

Jackie Hildering of the Port McNeill-based Marine Education and Research Society said the presence of the species this far north is a “rare event,” though more sightings are being reported. Mike Walsh, who lives on Esperanza Inlet, told Hildering that long-beaks have become regular visitors to the inlet over the past two and a half years, including a female and calf in August 2025. Another was photographed in the Leiner River estuary at Tahsis by Kyle Wilkinson last September.

Hildering said the long-beaks could be far from their usual range because of El Niño, where trade winds weaken and can reverse direction and push warm surface water along the North American coast. “They’re believed to be visitors that are related to warm water events — and this is an El Niño year,” Hildering said. She said the weather pattern changes water temperature and currents.

“And the current is going to influence where the prey is, which could mean that we get other unique visitors in increased numbers this year.” Hildering said one theory is that the dolphins were likely following prey. “Who knows how many were in pursuit of the prey together, and then have split,” she said.

“This relates to how vast our coastline and open waters are in British Columbia, where even a humpback whale can disappear or wash up stranded and never be seen.” She said it also takes a discerning eye to spot the differences from similar species like Pacific white-sided dolphins, Dall’s porpoises and harbour porpoises, all common in B.C. waters. Sea life following changing currents and warmer water isn’t unusual.

Over the past few years, Islanders have encountered ocean sunfish that usually live in the southern hemisphere in Barkley Sound and around Alert Bay, along with a loggerhead sea turtle found near Pedder Bay that had to be taken into care for severe hypothermia. It was later released in San Diego. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued an El Niño advisory, saying it will strengthen through the end of this year, with a 97% chance it will persist through early spring of 2027.

The agency said this year’s event could rank as the longest El Niño event on historical record, dating back to 1950. McCormack said wildlife observers are keeping an eye on the waters for unusual species. In May 2025, a Bryde’s whale was found dead at Port McNeill Bay, the first recorded case of a Bryde’s whale in B.C.

The juvenile whale was far from its usual range in warmer tropical and subtropical waters, closer to Mexico. “Sometimes they turn up in strange places, so it’s really amazing when you get to see these rare visitors,” said McCormack.