"Extremely rare sighting" of fin whale in waters off Vancouver Island

A rare sighting of the world’s second-largest whale in north Puget Sound makes marine experts hopeful for a recolonization on the West Coast.

A fin whale was spotted and photographed Thursday morning south of Minor Island, near Whidbey Island, about 50 kilometres east of Victoria. The sighting was made by naturalists aboard the Chilkat Express, part of a Seattle-area whale-watching fleet.