Killer whales are located by boat, usually after sightings reports are received from local hunters who tell us where to look for them. During all killer whale encounters, skin and blubber samples for chemical and genetic analyses are collected using a crossbow to fire a biopsy dart fitted with a tubular sterile stainless steel tip. Whales are targeted at the saddle patch region below the trailing edge of the dorsal fin. Skin and blubber samples are frozen at -20°C. Analyses include stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon in skin, fatty acid and chemical pollutant profiles of blubber, and genetics profiling of skin.