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August 28, 2026
For nearly 30 years, Mark Malleson has spent his working life on the waters around Victoria. As the lead Zodiac skipper for Prince of Whales and a field researcher assistant with the Center for Whale Research and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Mark has built a career around his passion for whales and the ocean.
A Career on the Water
Mark joined Prince of Whales in 1997 after being offered a job by company founder Alan McGillivray. What began as a summer job quickly became a lifelong career.
“I feel blessed to have been able to do this job for the last 30 years,” Mark says. “I grew up sailing in these waters, so just being on the ocean is amazing.”
In addition to guiding, Mark serves as a field researcher for the Center for Whale Research, contributing to vital long-term Orca population monitoring. He is also the co-founder of Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea, an initiative dedicated to studying regional humpback populations.
Mark finds guiding and research complement each other wonderfully. Daily tours keep Mark connected to local whale movements, and he loves be able to share his research knowledge directly with guests on the water
Supporting Research in B.C. Waters
Mark’s research focuses on three key populations in the Salish Sea: Southern Resident killer whales, Bigg’s killer whales, and humpbacks. Through his work with the Center for Whale Research, he contributes to a 50-year census tracking the Southern Residents’ J, K, and L pods, while his broader field studies monitor long-term trends across all three species.
Prince of Whales is proud to directly support Marks work through the research vessel Mike One. Prince of Whales covers the maintenance and fueling costs, keeping it dock-ready in Victoria at all times. Having a dedicated research boat based locally allows Mark to receive real-time reports through his extensive network of guides, researchers, and mariners, getting on the water quickly to document whales along Vancouver Island’s coast
What Does Whale Research Look Like?
Much of Mark’s work focuses on photo identification, documenting distinct features like dorsal fins and saddle patches to recognize individual whales. These photographs build comprehensive catalogs that allow researchers to monitor populations over time. Every year, Mark participates in an annual Center for Whale Research contract out to Bamfield on Vancouver Island’s outer coast. During these expeditions, he performs roll calls on the Southern Residents, capturing photographs of individual whales and their body composition to assess their overall health.
His field research extends beyond Southern Residents to the Bigg’s killer whale population. Drawing on decades of encounter data, Mark served as a co-author on a newly published Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) photo-identification catalog. Mark’s cataloging work covers other key species in local waters as well. As co-founder of Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea, he helps maintain an extensive regional catalog tracking humpback populations as they return to feed in the Salish Sea
Here at Prince of Whales, we are so proud to have Mark as our lead skipper in Victoria and honored to support his dedicated research on the water. If you would love to learn directly from Mark and our passionate team of skippers, join us for an unforgettable tour!
