Gray whale population off western U.S. continues to decline
U.S. researchers say the number of gray whales off western North America has continued to fall over the last two years, a decline that resembles previous population swings over the past several decades.
An increase in the number of whales washing up on West Coast beaches prompted the fisheries agency to declare an “unusual mortality event” in 2019. Researchers are still investigating the die-off, but they say climate change and its effects on sea ice and prey availability and location are likely factors. Many, but not all, of the whales that washed up appeared malnourished.
The population rebounded before a spike in whales washing up on beaches prompted the declaration of another “unusual mortality event” in 1999 and 2000, when the number of whales fell by a quarter. “We need to be closely monitoring the population to help understand what may be driving the trend,” said David Weller, director of the Marine Mammal and Turtle Division at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in San Diego.
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