Information on the North Pacific right whale is lacking; its distribution patterns and migratory routes are not clearly known. What is known through historical whale hunting logbooks, however, is that right whales once occupied British Columbia waters from April to October, most likely feeding or en route to calving grounds. Important locations included the southeastern Bering Sea slope and shelf, the eastern Aleutian Islands, and the Gulf of Alaska slope and abyssal plain. In general, right whales like coastlines and large bays, but spend most of their time in the open sea. These days, sightings and studies of the North Pacific right whale typically occur in the 'right whale box', a specific area in the eastern Bering Sea, off the coast of Alaska.

If you do spot one you may have just won the marine mammal lottery. No one has seen a North Pacific right whale in Canadian waters in the last 50 years. North Pacific right whales are large and stocky, with square lower jaws. They are usually entirely black, although some have a bit of white on their bellies. The North Pacific right whale has two obvious identity clues: a highly arched jaw, and a series of white growths of thickened skin on its head called callosities. The North Pacific right whale is up to 17 metres long-the length of three minivans-and weighs up to 90,000 kilograms.