Understanding Their Decline and the Role of Science in Their Survival
Each January, Eastern Pacific gray whales are welcomed seasonal visitors, migrating down the coast of North America from their summer feeding grounds in the Arctic to their winter breeding/birthing grounds along the coast of Baja Mexico. After a month or two in the warmer waters, nurturing the young and mating, then they migrate right back up the coast in the spring, making it a solid 3-4 months of gray whale sightings in the Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area.
Thanks to their incredible 10,000-12,000 mile annual migration, Gray whales are among the most widely watched whales along the coast. Their remarkable recovery from near extinction due to over-hunting inspired the growth of the whale-watching industry along the West Coast. Today, they are cherished icons of the Pacific, deeply woven into the identity of coastal communities—including those of us along the Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area.
Last year, we wrote a blog, “Meet the Gray Whale” and shared information about their amazing migration and their cultural connection.
But the population of Pacific gray whales have fluctuated over the decades and most recently in the past six years, have suffered a significant decline. Because of this rapid decline, NOAA declared an ‘Usually Mortality Event (UME)’ in 2019 to better understand the reasons behind their sharp decline.
Since then, the Eastern Pacific Gray whale population has struggled to recover after the Unusual Mortality Event (UME) from 2019 to 2023, which saw thousands of whales perish due to malnutrition, climate-related changes in prey availability, and possible disease. While the mortality rate has slowed in the past two years, the population remains lower than pre-UME levels, with recent estimates suggesting the population to be between 17,000-21,000 individuals, down from nearly 27,000 in 2016.
Unfortunately, this past January, we observed very few southbound gray whales near Channel Islands National Park. This trend was consistent with other surveys along their migration route, showing significantly lower numbers compared to this time in previous years.
Were the gray whales late, spending more time up in their feeding grounds? Or does the population continue to struggle?
Scientific research is crucial for understanding the factors affecting Gray whale populations and developing conservation strategies to protect them. By studying their migration patterns, feeding behavior, and body condition, researchers can assess the long-term impacts of climate change, prey availability, and human activities like shipping and entanglement in fishing gear.
Ongoing monitoring helps identify emerging threats and informs policies to reduce disturbances in their critical habitats. Naturalists onboard the whale watching boats in the Santa Barbara Channel Whale Heritage Area upload their gray whale sightings to the Whale Alert app to help contribute important data.
We are all in this together. Protecting Gray whales not only preserves a key species in marine ecosystems but also provides insight into the health of the ocean as a whole.
