Island Packers

A perfect summary of our first Summer Whale Watch! Non-stop action, and the official whale count was "too many to count."
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This is shaping up to be a season unlike any we've had in several years. Blues, Fins, and Humpbacks are feeding together on the plentiful bounty of krill in the Santa Barbara Channel.
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We've added an additional date to our whale watching schedule next week. The link is in our bio.
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We have several specialty trips coming up this summer, including a day trip to Frys Harbor on June 16th. Check our website for details and to book.
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Plenty of room on our trip to Anacapa this Thursday and great ocean conditions!
Book now at:
https://islandpackers.com/book/oxnard/trips/anacapa-island/

One of the benefits of "May gray" is that the islands are still colorful!
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A field full of wishes waiting to be heard.
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On Monday, we helped kick off a 3-year project to clean up five of the National Marine Sanctuaries. We teamed up with and to collect 3,140 pounds of marine debris at Chinese Harbor.
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Other partners in the project, including .info and , added even more for a grand total of 5,763 pounds for the day!
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📷: Nick Mourmouris
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Passenger Haley Gardner caught this special moment last Sunday on the Painted Cave trip. You never know what you'll see in the Park and Sanctuary!
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Springtime at its best!
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Yesterday was a great day for wildlife sightings! While one of our vessels was getting mugged by Gray Whales, another one sighted the CA138's. You never know what you're going to see out there!
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Meet Lemur, a male Humpback who has 70 documented sightings since 2010. How do we know this? The underside of a Humpback's tail is unique and can be used to identify individuals. Using the website happywhale.com, we were able to quickly get a "match" today and learn more about this graceful giant!
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You can do the same! Sightings reports and identification are really important ways that scientists can learn more about population dynamics and make informed decisions about conservation management. Become a community scientist and help create healthy oceans. It's as simple as uploading a photo.
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It was a perfect day for rainblows.
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What's trending now? On the water, we are in the height of the northbound Gray Whale season, and on the islands, there are still plenty of running springs and early spring wildflowers.
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Posted •
Join us on March 13th @ 6pm where we will be presenting together:

“Hail to the Whales and Island Fox Tales:
Stories from the Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area and the Channel Islands National Park.”

Chuck will also be doing a book signing of his latest book, ‘Paddling Into a Natural Balance: Stories of Kayaking & Conservation Around the Channel Islands National Park’.

As an appreciation for joining us, we’ll be raffling off free tickets for whale watching trips and a trip to Santa Cruz Island, thanks to

As part of their mission, ‘Night Lizard Brewing is committed to producing the highest quality craft beers using the freshest local ingredients while inspiring and educating the public on current environmental challenges facing the central coast.’

For every beer purchased, $1 will be donated to Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area on this night.

Chuck and I are excited to share some inspiring stories of hope— the remarkable revival of our local whales and island foxes from the edge of extinction over the past couple of decades.

Nevertheless, the future of our whales and island foxes relies on our ongoing endeavors to preserve healthy island and ocean ecosystems. These ecosystems nurture incredible biodiversity along the southern California coast. Join us to discover how you can contribute to their ongoing conservation success.

If you are not able to make this presentation, no worries, we are presenting together again on May 22nd at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum.



photo credit and Kevin Bailey

Our version of a winter wonderland.
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We are now selling grab and go sandwiches, snacks, and salads from in our Ventura terminal. Stop in before your trip to stock up for your island adventure!
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On we celebrate the successes of whale conservation and enjoy the diversity of species we see frequently in the recently designated site.
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There is always more we as individuals can do to help protect whales. What is your favorite species and how do you minimize your impact on their habitat?
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Basking Sharks are an uncommon sight in the Santa Barbara Channel, but today we spent time with two who were surface feeding. In the photos, you can see its open mouth as it filter feeds for plankton.
📷: Josh Crooch

Despite some challenging winter weather, whale watching season has been full of diversity! Bottlenose Dolphin, Gray Whales, Humpbacks, the ever present Common Dolphin, and even a few rare sightings of Orca.
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The season is only half over, so there is still time to get out there and experience the beauty and abundance of wildlife in our local waters. Check our website for times and dates.
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Paradise found.
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Spread love, not litter, this Valentine's Day!
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Get off the beaten path...

The recent rains are helping to green up the islands, and the additional benefit of a trip this time of year is seeing migrating Gray Whales on the journey across the Channel. Win, win!
📷: O'Brien

Another incredible day on the water with more Orca sightings - this time a different pod that included a new calf!
📷: Mark O'Brien
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Our wildlife cruise today got a true holiday treat - the Ca51s; Star, Orion, Comet and Bumper!
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Check out our latest Naturalist Blog post:

A Whale of a Marathon A glimpse into the natural history of one of the best marathon swimmers in the ocean - the Gray Whale.

Somewhere, over the rainbow...🎶
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The calm before the storm...
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