May 11, 2025
Why Gray Whales Are Dying: Climate, Starvation, and Human Threats
Gray whales are dying along the Pacific coast—and the reasons are alarming. In this episode, we dive into why hundreds of gray whales have stranded or died between 2019 and 2023. From food shortages in their Arctic feeding grounds to the rising risks of ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, we break down what NOAA has called an Unusual Mortality Event (UME) and how climate change is accelerating the crisis.
We also explore recent signs of population recovery and what it means for the future of marine mammal conservation. If you want to understand how ocean ecosystems are shifting—and what you can do to help protect one of the ocean’s most iconic species, then this episode is for you.
Link to Article: https://www.sfchronicle.com/climate/article/whale-deaths-20286824.php?utm_source=chatgpt.com
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Transcript
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Great whales are dying along the Pacific
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coast of North America
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and people are asking why.
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There are a lot of questions being asked.
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We've got some of the answers.
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We're going to talk about that on today's
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episode of the How to
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Protect the Ocean podcast.
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Let's start the show.
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Hey everybody, welcome back to another
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exciting episode of the How
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to Protect the Ocean podcast.
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I'm your host, Andrew Llewelyn, and this
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is the podcast where you
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find out what's happening
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with the ocean, how you can speak up for
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the ocean, and what you
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can do to live for a better
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ocean by taking action.
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In today's episode, we're going to be
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talking about gray
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whales and dying gray whales.
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Unfortunately, between 2019 and 2023, the
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unusual mortality
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event, the UME was declared
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for Eastern North Pacific gray whales.
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During this period, approximately 690
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whales were found
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stranded from Alaska to Mexico.
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Investigations by NOAA revealed that many
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of these whales
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suffered from malnutrition,
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likely due to changes in the Arctic
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feeding grounds leading
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to decreased prey activity.
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In 2025, the trend is continuing with
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several gray whale deaths occurring in
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San Francisco Bay area.
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Necrophes indicate that some whales were
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emaciated, means they are starving, while
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others showed signs of ship strikes.
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We've seen this before on the Atlantic
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side of North America.
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I'll talk about that in a second.
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The increased presence of whales in the
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bay, possibly searching for food, raising
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concerns about vessel collisions.
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Now you're probably thinking that these
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whales are in dire need, just like
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northern right whales on the
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east coast of North America.
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But despite these challenges that they're
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facing with being emaciated and having
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ship strikes, there
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are still signs of hope.
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NOAA reports 33% increase in gray whale
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numbers, estimating around 19,260
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individuals in 2024.
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Up from 14,530 from the previous year.
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That's a crazy increase. However, calf
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production remains low, suggesting that
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ongoing reproductive challenges.
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We're still seeing challenges. This is
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one of those cautionary tales where we're
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seeing a perfectly fine
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population with increasing numbers.
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But we're starting to see a bit of a dip
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in the calf numbers happening every year.
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Now we compared that to North Atlantic
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right whales and we're starting to know
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where they're in dire need.
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They're critically endangered under 100
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reproductive females and we're starting
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to see a little bit of calf activity
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increase, but not much.
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And we're seeing more years where you
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were seeing catastrophic dying numbers
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and the number just
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continues to decrease and decrease.
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I think overall population is under 400.
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I think 390 was the last number I saw,
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but don't quote me on that.
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It's still going down. It's not trending
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upwards and that's still a concern. The
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gray whales on the other hand, the North
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Pacific great whales are actually doing
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pretty well from a population standpoint,
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but we're seeing that decrease.
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And with climate change rearing its ugly
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head, this is a big problem and climate
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change plays a
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significant role in this crisis.
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Melting sea ice disrupts the ecosystem
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affecting the availability of amphipods,
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a primary food source for gray whales.
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Additionally, increased human activity
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such as shipping and fishing post threats
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through vessel strikes and entanglements.
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Here's the lowdown with climate change
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increasing, especially in
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the Arctic with melting ice.
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We're starting to see more ships go
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through the Northwest Passage across
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Canada, over Alaska, into the Pacific.
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So you're actually having a connection
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from the Atlantic to the Pacific, which
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increases shipping, allows goods to be
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shipped over that area that has people
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have been wanting that for centuries.
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I mean, back in the 1600s, 1700s, 1800s,
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people were trying to pass through the
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Northwest Passage, dying and having
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catastrophic effects and results.
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Now it's opening and it's open and ships
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can actually go through there.
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So we're going to see more of those ships
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go through there where whales are not
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used to seeing these ships come through.
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Whales are not used to
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fishing activities in these areas.
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If that increases, there's going to be a
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likelihood that the increase of ship
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strikes and whale entanglement in fishing
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gear will actually increase.
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This is not a good thing for these
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whales, which are used to having a
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peaceful time in the sea ice or around
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the sea ice and in colder waters in the
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Arctic where they feed
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during the summer months.
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I've seen them feed.
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They're amazing to watch in the waters.
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Gray whales are obviously watched down in
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Mexico and it's fun to watch.
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People go up.
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They come up to the boats.
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People go up.
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They try and touch them.
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Never touch a whale, by the way, but it's
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a very interactive ecotourism thing and
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they go north in the summer to feed on
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the amphipods and with lack of sea ice,
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the amphipods who actually sit at the
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bottom of the ice underneath like the sea
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surface ice will actually sit there.
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If that ice is melted, there's not going
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to be any amphipods.
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They're not protected by anything.
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They're not going to be able to survive
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and there's going to be less amphipods.
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So less food means less whales or
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emaciated whales like we're seeing here.
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So we could be seeing a pattern that's
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been growing and that we just haven't
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been able to detect because we haven't
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seen the amount of deaths
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since our I guess before.
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What was it?
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I think I said 2020 2019.
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So before covid we started to have a
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population that was
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fine that increased death.
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Six hundred ninety individuals over four
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years is huge and they were seeing more
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in 2025 a bit of a break in 2024 but
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seeing more in 2025 eventually is going
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to affect the population.
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The overall population.
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We're not going to see these increases
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like we've seen now.
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We're going to actually see a stall of
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that increase or at least of a shortening
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of that increase and then it's going to
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start to decrease or stay the same.
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That's not good.
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We want to see an increase.
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We want to see this
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happening more and more.
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So there are ways that we can do
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conservation and conservation efforts are
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underway to mitigate these threats.
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So the Coast Guard and ferry operators in
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the San Francisco Bay Area are adjusting
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routes issuing alerts to protect whales.
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So they'll probably decrease
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ship speed in certain areas.
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They'll probably have more alerts and
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more spotters more observers marine
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mammal observers that are around
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hopefully and of course public reporting
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of whale sightings and strandings is
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encouraged to aid in
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the conservation efforts.
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Now they're in the San Francisco Bay Area
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because they're
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probably looking for food.
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There's not as much food out there.
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They were seeing a decrease in amphipods
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probably even their favorite foods along
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their migration routes are probably
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decreasing or changing may not decrease
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but they may change.
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And so the whales are adapting to a
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changing ecosystem, which is what
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scientists have been saying for decades
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of what's going to happen when we have
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climate change their food
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source is going to change.
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Therefore, everything is going to change.
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We need to protect these gray whales.
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They're a vital part of the ecosystem in
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ways that sometimes we don't even realize
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and they're a majestic
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species and iconic species.
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And we need to ensure that they are
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continuing growing because back in the
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day when we hunted whales as humans and
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then we use it for oil. We use for fuel.
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We pretty much decimated most of the
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whale population. The IWC, the
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International Whale Commission comes in.
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They put protections. They put
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moratoriums on whale hunting and then all
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of a sudden the humpback whales, the gray
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whales, they start to come back and with
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less human activity.
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The whales do well with more human
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activities. The whales don't do as well.
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And that's what we're starting to see
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here. We're starting to see more human
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activity in areas where we never saw as
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much human activity
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before, like in the Arctic.
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Plus we're seeing lack of sea ice and the
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melting of sea ice, meaning less food.
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We're starting to see emaciated animals.
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That's not good for reproductive
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activity. That's not good for health
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overall of the species.
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So the plight of the gray whale is a
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stark reminder of the interconnectedness
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of these ecosystems and the impact of
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human activities on the marine life. It's
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just something that we see each and every
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day. And unfortunately, it's now
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impacting the growth of this population.
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So continued research, of course,
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continued conservation efforts and public
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awareness are crucial to ensuring the
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survival of these majestic creatures. We
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need to protect these species. Now with
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the decimation of staff in and along NOAA
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is not going to help.
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We need to increase monitoring. We need
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to increase research activities. And to
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do that, you could support your favorite
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nonprofit organizations that are out to
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protect the gray whales. They're out to
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protect whales and do more research,
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understand their plight. Look for
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graduate students who are doing research
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on looking at where the spots of where
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they can feed more, where these gray
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whales are going and how ship patterns
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and shipping lanes might have to change
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in the future just by the changing.
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And so we're going to go back to North Atlantic. Remember on the east coast back
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in 2017 we saw a change in the pattern of
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the North Atlantic right whale. They
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started to go more north. Where it was
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warmer where there was warmer than it
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used to be in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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But when they went into the Gulf of St.
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Lawrence, we had ships that
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are traveling at 20 knots.
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Well, North Atlantic right whales don't
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get out of the way very easily. They sit
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right below the surface, making it hard
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to detect for ships to slow down in time.
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And then they end up getting hit by
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ships. They also get entangled by, you
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know, a lot of crab pots or lobster pots,
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the fishing lines on those pots.
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And so when they go into a new area and
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that new area is not used to having North
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Atlantic right whales, you start to see a
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lot more deaths happen because they're
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coming into new territory because of
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climate change because it's warmer.
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That's where their food is going.
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So humans have to adapt. They have to
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adapt faster than the whales because
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that's the whales. That's their ocean.
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That's where they go. They don't. It's
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really hard to direct them anywhere
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different. And so we start to see that
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happen. We don't want to see that happen
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long term for the gray whale. So we have
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to adapt even faster. Luckily, it seems
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people like the Coast Guard and ferry
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operators are working together in the San
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Francisco Bay area. That's an important
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aspect that people want to protect these
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whales. People are in a good area where
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environmental protection is a problem.
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And I think that's really important for
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what we want for these gray whales. So
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love to hear your thoughts on this. Do
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you think this is the start of a dire
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future for these gray whales? Or do you
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think we can say them? Love to hear your
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thoughts. Hit me up with a comment down
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below if you're watching this on YouTube.
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And of course, if you're listening to
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this on Apple podcast, Spotify, or your
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favorite podcast app, just let me know
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00:09:50,708 --> 00:09:52,041
how you feel. You can hit me up on
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Instagram at how to protect the ocean.
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That's at how to protect the ocean. Or you can go to speak up for blue.com forward slash contact, fill out the contact form. Let me know your thoughts on this.
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And I'll see you next time.
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,583
Great whales are dying along the Pacific
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coast of North America
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and people are asking why.
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There are a lot of questions being asked.
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We've got some of the answers.
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We're going to talk about that on today's
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episode of the How to
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Protect the Ocean podcast.
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Let's start the show.
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00:00:15,916 --> 00:00:17,041
Hey everybody, welcome back to another
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exciting episode of the How
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to Protect the Ocean podcast.
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I'm your host, Andrew Llewelyn, and this
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is the podcast where you
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find out what's happening
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with the ocean, how you can speak up for
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the ocean, and what you
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can do to live for a better
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00:00:25,833 --> 00:00:27,833
ocean by taking action.
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In today's episode, we're going to be
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talking about gray
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whales and dying gray whales.
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Unfortunately, between 2019 and 2023, the
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unusual mortality
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event, the UME was declared
26
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for Eastern North Pacific gray whales.
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During this period, approximately 690
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whales were found
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stranded from Alaska to Mexico.
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Investigations by NOAA revealed that many
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00:00:52,208 --> 00:00:52,750
of these whales
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00:00:52,750 --> 00:00:53,833
suffered from malnutrition,
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00:00:54,583 --> 00:00:56,916
likely due to changes in the Arctic
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feeding grounds leading
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to decreased prey activity.
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In 2025, the trend is continuing with
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several gray whale deaths occurring in
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San Francisco Bay area.
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Necrophes indicate that some whales were
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emaciated, means they are starving, while
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others showed signs of ship strikes.
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We've seen this before on the Atlantic
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side of North America.
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I'll talk about that in a second.
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The increased presence of whales in the
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bay, possibly searching for food, raising
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00:01:23,291 --> 00:01:26,000
concerns about vessel collisions.
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Now you're probably thinking that these
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00:01:28,291 --> 00:01:30,125
whales are in dire need, just like
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northern right whales on the
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00:01:31,458 --> 00:01:32,708
east coast of North America.
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00:01:33,125 --> 00:01:34,791
But despite these challenges that they're
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facing with being emaciated and having
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ship strikes, there
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00:01:37,791 --> 00:01:39,041
are still signs of hope.
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NOAA reports 33% increase in gray whale
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numbers, estimating around 19,260
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individuals in 2024.
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Up from 14,530 from the previous year.
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That's a crazy increase. However, calf
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production remains low, suggesting that
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ongoing reproductive challenges.
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We're still seeing challenges. This is
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one of those cautionary tales where we're
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seeing a perfectly fine
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population with increasing numbers.
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But we're starting to see a bit of a dip
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in the calf numbers happening every year.
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00:02:13,125 --> 00:02:15,416
Now we compared that to North Atlantic
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right whales and we're starting to know
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where they're in dire need.
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They're critically endangered under 100
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reproductive females and we're starting
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to see a little bit of calf activity
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increase, but not much.
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00:02:26,833 --> 00:02:28,416
And we're seeing more years where you
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were seeing catastrophic dying numbers
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and the number just
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continues to decrease and decrease.
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I think overall population is under 400.
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I think 390 was the last number I saw,
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but don't quote me on that.
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It's still going down. It's not trending
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upwards and that's still a concern. The
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gray whales on the other hand, the North
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Pacific great whales are actually doing
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pretty well from a population standpoint,
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but we're seeing that decrease.
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And with climate change rearing its ugly
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head, this is a big problem and climate
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change plays a
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significant role in this crisis.
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Melting sea ice disrupts the ecosystem
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affecting the availability of amphipods,
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a primary food source for gray whales.
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Additionally, increased human activity
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such as shipping and fishing post threats
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through vessel strikes and entanglements.
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Here's the lowdown with climate change
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increasing, especially in
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the Arctic with melting ice.
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We're starting to see more ships go
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through the Northwest Passage across
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Canada, over Alaska, into the Pacific.
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So you're actually having a connection
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from the Atlantic to the Pacific, which
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increases shipping, allows goods to be
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shipped over that area that has people
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have been wanting that for centuries.
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I mean, back in the 1600s, 1700s, 1800s,
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people were trying to pass through the
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Northwest Passage, dying and having
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catastrophic effects and results.
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Now it's opening and it's open and ships
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can actually go through there.
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So we're going to see more of those ships
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go through there where whales are not
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used to seeing these ships come through.
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Whales are not used to
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fishing activities in these areas.
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If that increases, there's going to be a
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likelihood that the increase of ship
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strikes and whale entanglement in fishing
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gear will actually increase.
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This is not a good thing for these
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whales, which are used to having a
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peaceful time in the sea ice or around
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the sea ice and in colder waters in the
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Arctic where they feed
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during the summer months.
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I've seen them feed.
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They're amazing to watch in the waters.
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Gray whales are obviously watched down in
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Mexico and it's fun to watch.
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People go up.
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They come up to the boats.
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People go up.
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They try and touch them.
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Never touch a whale, by the way, but it's
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a very interactive ecotourism thing and
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they go north in the summer to feed on
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the amphipods and with lack of sea ice,
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the amphipods who actually sit at the
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bottom of the ice underneath like the sea
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surface ice will actually sit there.
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If that ice is melted, there's not going
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to be any amphipods.
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They're not protected by anything.
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They're not going to be able to survive
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and there's going to be less amphipods.
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So less food means less whales or
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emaciated whales like we're seeing here.
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So we could be seeing a pattern that's
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been growing and that we just haven't
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been able to detect because we haven't
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seen the amount of deaths
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since our I guess before.
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What was it?
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I think I said 2020 2019.
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So before covid we started to have a
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population that was
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fine that increased death.
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Six hundred ninety individuals over four
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years is huge and they were seeing more
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in 2025 a bit of a break in 2024 but
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seeing more in 2025 eventually is going
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to affect the population.
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The overall population.
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We're not going to see these increases
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like we've seen now.
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We're going to actually see a stall of
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that increase or at least of a shortening
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of that increase and then it's going to
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start to decrease or stay the same.
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That's not good.
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We want to see an increase.
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We want to see this
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happening more and more.
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So there are ways that we can do
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conservation and conservation efforts are
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underway to mitigate these threats.
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So the Coast Guard and ferry operators in
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the San Francisco Bay Area are adjusting
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routes issuing alerts to protect whales.
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So they'll probably decrease
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ship speed in certain areas.
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They'll probably have more alerts and
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more spotters more observers marine
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mammal observers that are around
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hopefully and of course public reporting
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of whale sightings and strandings is
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encouraged to aid in
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the conservation efforts.
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Now they're in the San Francisco Bay Area
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because they're
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probably looking for food.
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There's not as much food out there.
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They were seeing a decrease in amphipods
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probably even their favorite foods along
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their migration routes are probably
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decreasing or changing may not decrease
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but they may change.
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And so the whales are adapting to a
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changing ecosystem, which is what
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scientists have been saying for decades
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of what's going to happen when we have
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climate change their food
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source is going to change.
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Therefore, everything is going to change.
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We need to protect these gray whales.
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They're a vital part of the ecosystem in
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ways that sometimes we don't even realize
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and they're a majestic
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species and iconic species.
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And we need to ensure that they are
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continuing growing because back in the
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day when we hunted whales as humans and
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then we use it for oil. We use for fuel.
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We pretty much decimated most of the
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whale population. The IWC, the
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International Whale Commission comes in.
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They put protections. They put
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moratoriums on whale hunting and then all
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of a sudden the humpback whales, the gray
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whales, they start to come back and with
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less human activity.
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The whales do well with more human
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activities. The whales don't do as well.
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And that's what we're starting to see
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here. We're starting to see more human
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activity in areas where we never saw as
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much human activity
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before, like in the Arctic.
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Plus we're seeing lack of sea ice and the
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melting of sea ice, meaning less food.
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We're starting to see emaciated animals.
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That's not good for reproductive
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activity. That's not good for health
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overall of the species.
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So the plight of the gray whale is a
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stark reminder of the interconnectedness
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of these ecosystems and the impact of
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human activities on the marine life. It's
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just something that we see each and every
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day. And unfortunately, it's now
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impacting the growth of this population.
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So continued research, of course,
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continued conservation efforts and public
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awareness are crucial to ensuring the
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survival of these majestic creatures. We
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need to protect these species. Now with
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the decimation of staff in and along NOAA
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is not going to help.
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We need to increase monitoring. We need
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to increase research activities. And to
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do that, you could support your favorite
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nonprofit organizations that are out to
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protect the gray whales. They're out to
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protect whales and do more research,
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understand their plight. Look for
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graduate students who are doing research
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on looking at where the spots of where
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they can feed more, where these gray
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whales are going and how ship patterns
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and shipping lanes might have to change
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in the future just by the changing.
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And so we're going to go back to North Atlantic. Remember on the east coast back
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in 2017 we saw a change in the pattern of
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the North Atlantic right whale. They
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started to go more north. Where it was
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warmer where there was warmer than it
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used to be in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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But when they went into the Gulf of St.
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Lawrence, we had ships that
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are traveling at 20 knots.
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Well, North Atlantic right whales don't
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get out of the way very easily. They sit
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right below the surface, making it hard
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to detect for ships to slow down in time.
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And then they end up getting hit by
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ships. They also get entangled by, you
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know, a lot of crab pots or lobster pots,
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the fishing lines on those pots.
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And so when they go into a new area and
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that new area is not used to having North
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Atlantic right whales, you start to see a
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lot more deaths happen because they're
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coming into new territory because of
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climate change because it's warmer.
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That's where their food is going.
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So humans have to adapt. They have to
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adapt faster than the whales because
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that's the whales. That's their ocean.
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That's where they go. They don't. It's
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really hard to direct them anywhere
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different. And so we start to see that
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happen. We don't want to see that happen
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long term for the gray whale. So we have
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to adapt even faster. Luckily, it seems
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people like the Coast Guard and ferry
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operators are working together in the San
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Francisco Bay area. That's an important
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aspect that people want to protect these
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whales. People are in a good area where
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environmental protection is a problem.
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And I think that's really important for
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what we want for these gray whales. So
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love to hear your thoughts on this. Do
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you think this is the start of a dire
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future for these gray whales? Or do you
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think we can say them? Love to hear your
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thoughts. Hit me up with a comment down
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below if you're watching this on YouTube.
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And of course, if you're listening to
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this on Apple podcast, Spotify, or your
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favorite podcast app, just let me know
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how you feel. You can hit me up on
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Instagram at how to protect the ocean.
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That's at how to protect the ocean. Or you can go to speak up for blue.com forward slash contact, fill out the contact form. Let me know your thoughts on this.
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And I'll see you next time.
