Bubble Net Feeding in Alaska: How Cruise Passengers Can See Humpbacks Hunt as a Team

By GEOFF CAPLAN

Most people who book an Alaska whale watching tour are hoping for a tail slap, a spout, maybe a breach if the day goes well. Then somebody on the boat mentions bubble net feeding, and suddenly everyone has a new item at the top of the wish list.

Fair enough. Bubble net feeding is one of the strangest and most impressive things a humpback whale does, and Southeast Alaska is one of the few places on Earth where cruise passengers have a realistic shot at seeing it from a small boat. This post explains what it is, where and when it happens, and how to give a port day the best possible odds without turning it into a stressful race back to the pier.

Video: Whales Team Up in a Bubble Net Hunt

ShoreExcursions.com offers an excellent variety of independent whale watching tours in Alaska. Shore Excursions is a leading independent shore excursion provider operated by a highly experienced travel professional, which gives cruise passengers a practical alternative to booking everything through the cruise line.

One more point before getting to the whales. Shore Excursions offers a guaranteed on-time return to the ship policy. For anyone who has watched a whale get interesting at exactly the wrong moment, that matters.

What Bubble Net Feeding Actually Is

Humpbacks are usually solitary animals. They travel alone, feed alone, and generally mind their own business. Bubble net feeding is the exception, and it looks nothing like the rest of their day.

Here is the short version. A group of humpbacks finds a dense school of herring or other small fish. One whale dives beneath the school and swims upward in a tightening spiral, releasing a steady stream of bubbles from its blowhole. Those bubbles rise and form a curtain the fish will not cross. Other whales work the edges, often calling loudly underwater to drive the fish into a tighter and tighter ball near the surface.

Then, on some signal scientists still argue about, every whale in the group lunges straight up through the center of the ring with its mouth wide open. From the boat, it looks like the ocean has decided to explode. Several enormous heads break the surface at once, gulls dive in for the leftovers, and a few seconds later it is over.

What makes it special is that the behavior is learned, not instinctive. Only a subset of Southeast Alaska humpbacks know how to do it, and they pass it along within social groups. Recent research has even argued that the bubble net qualifies as a manufactured tool, since whales adjust its size, depth, and bubble spacing to suit the situation.

Where Bubble Net Feeding Happens in Alaska

This is not a behavior that shows up everywhere whales do. It depends on dense schools of forage fish, cold nutrient-rich water, and whales that have learned the trick. Southeast Alaska checks all three boxes.

The waters around Juneau, including Stephens Passage, Lynn Canal, and the area near Auke Bay, are the best-known location. Frederick Sound near Petersburg is another classic spot and is where some of the earliest scientific descriptions of the behavior were recorded. Chatham Strait and the waters off Chichagof Island, near Icy Strait Point, also produce sightings. Sitka gets its share as well.

It also shows up for a short window each summer in Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjords near Seward. Local guides say a whale that migrated up from Southeast Alaska taught the others. Whales, it turns out, share recipes.

Video: Humpbacks Bubble Net Feeding Near Sitka

When to Go: Timing Is Everything

Humpbacks arrive in Alaska in spring and stay through early fall, but bubble netting tracks the fish, not the calendar. In most years the activity is sporadic in May and June, picks up in July, and peaks from mid-July through August. Some seasons it runs into September. Some seasons it fades after a few weeks.

Juneau operators have been candid about this. In a typical year a handful of guests get lucky early, then the behavior more or less disappears until July. Once it starts in earnest, it can happen daily for weeks. The honest answer to “will we see it” is that a July or August cruise gives the best odds, and nobody can promise anything beyond that.

Time of day matters less than people assume. Humpbacks feed around the clock in summer to fatten up for a winter of not eating at all in Hawaii or Mexico, so morning and afternoon departures both produce sightings.

How to Improve the Odds on a Port Day

Smaller boats generally have an edge. A vessel carrying a couple dozen passengers can reposition quickly when the captain hears a report on the radio, and it sits lower to the water, which makes the lunge look bigger than life.

Look for an excursion with a naturalist or a captain who knows the individual whales. Many Juneau-area humpbacks have names and decades of sighting history, and a guide who recognizes a known bubble netter by its tail will head toward it with purpose.

Choose the longer tour if the schedule allows. Three or four hours on the water is a very different proposition from ninety minutes. More time means more chances, and more chances is the whole game when wildlife is involved.

Bring binoculars, a rain layer, and a camera set to burst mode. A lunge lasts seconds, so listen when the crew calls out a spot.

Video: Bubble Net Feeding in Alaska Up Close

The Part Nobody Likes to Say Out Loud

Wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, and certainly not for a behavior this specific. Seeing a whale in Juneau in summer is a safe bet. Bubble netting is another matter, since researchers have identified only a few dozen regular bubble netters among the thousands of humpbacks that visit Southeast Alaska each year. The right mindset is to book the tour for the whales, the scenery, the sea lions, and the eagles, and treat a bubble net as the bonus round.

Independent Excursions Give Cruise Passengers More Choice

Booking an independent shore excursion opens up the smaller boats, the longer tours, and the operators with the deepest local knowledge. ShoreExcursions.com specializes in independent shore excursions at cruise destinations around the world, including whale watching throughout Alaska, and is operated by a highly experienced travel professional.

The usual worry with an independent tour is getting back to the ship. That concern is addressed by the Shore Excursions guaranteed on-time return to the ship policy. The policy does not replace common sense or the need to follow the crew’s instructions. It does provide a real layer of confidence when booking outside the cruise line’s program. Passengers already close to sailing can also find last-minute options through Viator.

Cruise insurance is worth considering before any Alaska sailing. Excellent cruise insurance policies are available from CruiseInsurance.com. Coverage can address cancellations, trip interruptions, delays, medical emergencies, and emergency evacuation, depending on the policy and its terms. Every policy has exclusions and conditions, so read the details.

Frequently Asked Questions About Bubble Net Feeding in Alaska

What is bubble net feeding?

A cooperative hunting technique in which humpbacks blow a spiral of bubbles beneath a school of fish to trap them, then lunge up through the center with mouths open. It is learned behavior, and only some humpback populations do it.

Where is the best place to see bubble net feeding in Alaska?

The waters around Juneau are the most reliable, followed by Frederick Sound, Chatham Strait, Icy Strait, and Sitka. It also occurs briefly each summer near Seward in Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjords.

What month is best for bubble net feeding?

July and August offer the best odds in most years. Sightings happen earlier and later but are less consistent.

Is bubble net feeding guaranteed on a whale watching tour?

No. Seeing humpbacks in summer is very likely. Bubble netting is performed by a small number of whales and cannot be promised by anyone.

Where can cruise passengers book Alaska whale watching tours?

ShoreExcursions.com offers a selection of independent whale watching tours across Alaska cruise ports.

Plan an Alaska Whale Watching Excursion

Bubble net feeding is the kind of thing people describe to friends for years afterward, usually with hand gestures. It cannot be scheduled, but it can be planned for. A July or August itinerary, a Southeast Alaska port, a smaller boat, and enough hours on the water put the odds firmly on the passenger’s side.

For cruise travelers looking beyond the standard cruise-line menu, ShoreExcursions.com Alaska whale watching tours provide an independent starting point. With an experienced travel professional behind the service and a guaranteed on-time return to the ship policy, Shore Excursions offers a practical way to chase one of the great wildlife spectacles in North America.

Article Written, Edited and Reviewed for Length and Clarity

This is for informational purposes only. This content does not represent specific independent shore excursions. Check the site for details about available tours.

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