The North Coast Cetacean Society – BC Whales was founded in 2001 and is a non-profit, charitable whale- research organization with 23 years of dedication towards research, education, and the protection of whales within British Columbia waters. Their research includes marine and land based surveys, drone research, PhD and Masters student projects and acoustic monitoring. In 2001, with permission of the Gitga’at First Nation they built the research station known as Cetacea Lab, and in 2016 the Fin Island Research Station. Both stations have given researchers and local community members the opportunity to live remotely with whales to study their behavior in their natural environment. Their objective has always been to protect habitat for the long-term survival of whales along the coast of BC recognizing the importance of robust scientific research in conjunction with community outreach in having tangible impacts on protection of habitat for all whales.

Gitga’at First Nation is located on British Columbia’s remote northwest coast, the present-day home community of the GITGA’AT NATION is Hartley Bay. The Gitga’at have been stewards of their land and its resources since time immemorial, and their surroundings are deeply tied to their customs, daily life, and cultural identity.

OrcaLab was founded in 1970 on Hanson Island, known as Yukusam in the traditional territories of the ‘Namgis, Mamalilikulla and Tlowitsis First Nations in the Johnstone Strait area of northern Vancouver Island. The work of OrcaLab is based on the philosophy that it is possible to study the wild without interfering with lives or habitat. OrcaLab is a pioneer of passive real time acoustic monitoring and technology. They established a network of hydrophones, positioned around the orcas’ core habitat in the Johnstone Straight and Blackfish Sound to monitor their movements and communication between family members, pods and clans. Supplementing the acoustic data are land based visual sightings of orcas as they pass OrcaLab, identifying the social dynamics and travel patterns of both resident and biggs orca populations. They have been instrumental regarding protecting the Robson Bight Rubbing Beaches used by resident orca and recently added surface and underwater cameras in key locations to document habitat use and assist in an highly effective outreach program. OrcaLab’s operational philosophy is learning without interference.

SIMRES (Saturna Island Marine Research & Education Society) was founded as a community-based non-profit society in 2013, and has been operating hydrophones in Boundary Pass south of Saturna Island since 2014, with four currently in operation, and one or two more being planned. SIMRES academic collaborators are based at the University of Victoria, at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and in Washington State, USA. SIMRES also has extensive operational collaboration with the Marine Mammal Reporting Desk (Canadian Coast Guard) in Sidney, DFO local staff and DFO Enforcement staff, Gulf Islands National Park Reserve staff, Port of Vancouver, the ECHO (Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation) program, Ocean Wise, and JASCO.

Heiltsuk – Bella Bella, BC, is home of the Heiltsuk Nation.

MÁLEXEŁ (Malahat) Nation is a Coast Salish community, situated on the southern end of Vancouver Island, and has a rich history rooted in its ancestral lands, which have been integral to its cultural and economic identity. The name “Malahat” derives from the SENĆOŦEN (MÁLEXEŁ) and Hul̓ q̓ umí n̓ um̓ (Ma’le-’h’xe’l’) words meaning “caterpillars,” reflecting the deep connection to the land and its resources, used for hunting, fishing, gathering, and ceremonial activities.

Malahat Nation has installed hydrophones at two sites within the marine territory, including Pender Island Oak Bluffs and Malahat Beach South. These installations have been a collaborative initiative with Sea to Shore Systems and the BC Hydrophone Network.

Songhees First Nation – The lək̓ʷəŋən People have hunted and gathered here for thousands of years. This area, with its temperate climate, natural harbours, and rich resources, was a trading centre for a diversity of First Peoples. When Captain James Douglas anchored off of Clover Point in 1842, he saw the result of the lək̓ʷəŋən People’s careful land management, such as controlled burning and food cultivation. These practices were part of the land and part of Lək̓ʷəŋən culture.

Cowichan Tribes is a group of Coast Salish people, consisting of seven traditional villages: Kw’amutsun, Qwum’yiqun’, Hwulqwselu, S’amuna’, L’uml’umuluts, Hinupsum, Tl’ulpalus who today live in the Cowichan Valley region on Vancouver Island. With over 3,800 registered members, it is the single largest First Nations band in British Columbia whos traditional territory included the southern Gulf Islands and the south shore of Lulu Island, now in the city of Richmond, as well as the south arm of the Fraser River.

A Peters Lane Park hydrophone was installed as part of a Cowichan Tribes initiative to monitor the Sansum Narrows area in 2024. This was the first of three hydrophones planned for this region with the goal to localize. The second install will soon occur at Mount Maxwell.

‘Na̱mǥis Territory encompasses the entire Nimpkish and Kokish River Watersheds on northern Vancouver Island, along with the waters and several adjacent islands in the vicinity of Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Straits.

Historically, ʼNa̱mǥis resided throughout the territory, but currently are concentrated in ‘Yalis (Alert Bay, Cormorant Island) There are over 1800 ʼNa̱mǥis members currently living in over 100 communities in North America, as well as members in Europe, and the Middle East.