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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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Great whales are dying along the Pacific

(00:01):
coast of North America
and people are asking why.
There are a lot of questions being asked.
We've got some of the answers.
We're going to talk about that on today's
episode of the How to
Protect the Ocean podcast.
Let's start the show.
Hey everybody, welcome back to another
exciting episode of the How
to Protect the Ocean podcast.
I'm your host, Andrew Llewelyn, and this
is the podcast where you
find out what's happening

(00:21):
with the ocean, how you can speak up for
the ocean, and what you
can do to live for a better
ocean by taking action.
In today's episode, we're going to be
talking about gray
whales and dying gray whales.
Unfortunately, between 2019 and 2023, the
unusual mortality
event, the UME was declared
for Eastern North Pacific gray whales.

(00:42):
During this period, approximately 690
whales were found
stranded from Alaska to Mexico.
Investigations by NOAA revealed that many
of these whales
suffered from malnutrition,
likely due to changes in the Arctic
feeding grounds leading
to decreased prey activity.
In 2025, the trend is continuing with

(01:03):
several gray whale deaths occurring in
San Francisco Bay area.
Necrophes indicate that some whales were
emaciated, means they are starving, while
others showed signs of ship strikes.
We've seen this before on the Atlantic
side of North America.
I'll talk about that in a second.
The increased presence of whales in the
bay, possibly searching for food, raising

(01:23):
concerns about vessel collisions.
Now you're probably thinking that these
whales are in dire need, just like
northern right whales on the
east coast of North America.
But despite these challenges that they're
facing with being emaciated and having
ship strikes, there
are still signs of hope.
NOAA reports 33% increase in gray whale
numbers, estimating around 19,260

(01:46):
individuals in 2024.
Up from 14,530 from the previous year.
That's a crazy increase. However, calf
production remains low, suggesting that
ongoing reproductive challenges.
We're still seeing challenges. This is
one of those cautionary tales where we're
seeing a perfectly fine
population with increasing numbers.

(02:08):
But we're starting to see a bit of a dip
in the calf numbers happening every year.
Now we compared that to North Atlantic
right whales and we're starting to know
where they're in dire need.
They're critically endangered under 100
reproductive females and we're starting
to see a little bit of calf activity
increase, but not much.
And we're seeing more years where you

(02:28):
were seeing catastrophic dying numbers
and the number just
continues to decrease and decrease.
I think overall population is under 400.
I think 390 was the last number I saw,
but don't quote me on that.
It's still going down. It's not trending
upwards and that's still a concern. The
gray whales on the other hand, the North
Pacific great whales are actually doing
pretty well from a population standpoint,

(02:49):
but we're seeing that decrease.
And with climate change rearing its ugly
head, this is a big problem and climate
change plays a
significant role in this crisis.
Melting sea ice disrupts the ecosystem
affecting the availability of amphipods,
a primary food source for gray whales.
Additionally, increased human activity
such as shipping and fishing post threats

(03:09):
through vessel strikes and entanglements.
Here's the lowdown with climate change
increasing, especially in
the Arctic with melting ice.
We're starting to see more ships go
through the Northwest Passage across
Canada, over Alaska, into the Pacific.
So you're actually having a connection
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, which
increases shipping, allows goods to be
shipped over that area that has people

(03:31):
have been wanting that for centuries.
I mean, back in the 1600s, 1700s, 1800s,
people were trying to pass through the
Northwest Passage, dying and having
catastrophic effects and results.
Now it's opening and it's open and ships
can actually go through there.
So we're going to see more of those ships
go through there where whales are not
used to seeing these ships come through.

(03:52):
Whales are not used to
fishing activities in these areas.
If that increases, there's going to be a
likelihood that the increase of ship
strikes and whale entanglement in fishing
gear will actually increase.
This is not a good thing for these
whales, which are used to having a
peaceful time in the sea ice or around
the sea ice and in colder waters in the
Arctic where they feed
during the summer months.

(04:13):
I've seen them feed.
They're amazing to watch in the waters.
Gray whales are obviously watched down in
Mexico and it's fun to watch.
People go up.
They come up to the boats.
People go up.
They try and touch them.
Never touch a whale, by the way, but it's
a very interactive ecotourism thing and
they go north in the summer to feed on
the amphipods and with lack of sea ice,

(04:34):
the amphipods who actually sit at the
bottom of the ice underneath like the sea
surface ice will actually sit there.
If that ice is melted, there's not going
to be any amphipods.
They're not protected by anything.
They're not going to be able to survive
and there's going to be less amphipods.
So less food means less whales or
emaciated whales like we're seeing here.
So we could be seeing a pattern that's

(04:54):
been growing and that we just haven't
been able to detect because we haven't
seen the amount of deaths
since our I guess before.
What was it?
I think I said 2020 2019.
So before covid we started to have a
population that was
fine that increased death.
Six hundred ninety individuals over four
years is huge and they were seeing more
in 2025 a bit of a break in 2024 but

(05:15):
seeing more in 2025 eventually is going
to affect the population.
The overall population.
We're not going to see these increases
like we've seen now.
We're going to actually see a stall of
that increase or at least of a shortening
of that increase and then it's going to
start to decrease or stay the same.
That's not good.
We want to see an increase.
We want to see this
happening more and more.
So there are ways that we can do

(05:37):
conservation and conservation efforts are
underway to mitigate these threats.
So the Coast Guard and ferry operators in
the San Francisco Bay Area are adjusting
routes issuing alerts to protect whales.
So they'll probably decrease
ship speed in certain areas.
They'll probably have more alerts and
more spotters more observers marine
mammal observers that are around
hopefully and of course public reporting
of whale sightings and strandings is

(05:58):
encouraged to aid in
the conservation efforts.
Now they're in the San Francisco Bay Area
because they're
probably looking for food.
There's not as much food out there.
They were seeing a decrease in amphipods
probably even their favorite foods along
their migration routes are probably
decreasing or changing may not decrease
but they may change.
And so the whales are adapting to a
changing ecosystem, which is what

(06:19):
scientists have been saying for decades
of what's going to happen when we have
climate change their food
source is going to change.
Therefore, everything is going to change.
We need to protect these gray whales.
They're a vital part of the ecosystem in
ways that sometimes we don't even realize
and they're a majestic
species and iconic species.
And we need to ensure that they are

(06:39):
continuing growing because back in the
day when we hunted whales as humans and
then we use it for oil. We use for fuel.
We pretty much decimated most of the
whale population. The IWC, the
International Whale Commission comes in.
They put protections. They put
moratoriums on whale hunting and then all
of a sudden the humpback whales, the gray
whales, they start to come back and with
less human activity.

(07:00):
The whales do well with more human
activities. The whales don't do as well.
And that's what we're starting to see
here. We're starting to see more human
activity in areas where we never saw as
much human activity
before, like in the Arctic.
Plus we're seeing lack of sea ice and the
melting of sea ice, meaning less food.
We're starting to see emaciated animals.
That's not good for reproductive
activity. That's not good for health

(07:21):
overall of the species.
So the plight of the gray whale is a
stark reminder of the interconnectedness
of these ecosystems and the impact of
human activities on the marine life. It's
just something that we see each and every
day. And unfortunately, it's now
impacting the growth of this population.
So continued research, of course,
continued conservation efforts and public
awareness are crucial to ensuring the

(07:43):
survival of these majestic creatures. We
need to protect these species. Now with
the decimation of staff in and along NOAA
is not going to help.
We need to increase monitoring. We need
to increase research activities. And to
do that, you could support your favorite
nonprofit organizations that are out to
protect the gray whales. They're out to
protect whales and do more research,

(08:03):
understand their plight. Look for
graduate students who are doing research
on looking at where the spots of where
they can feed more, where these gray
whales are going and how ship patterns
and shipping lanes might have to change
in the future just by the changing.
And so we're going to go back to North Atlantic. Remember on the east coast back
in 2017 we saw a change in the pattern of
the North Atlantic right whale. They

(08:24):
started to go more north. Where it was
warmer where there was warmer than it
used to be in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
But when they went into the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, we had ships that
are traveling at 20 knots.
Well, North Atlantic right whales don't
get out of the way very easily. They sit
right below the surface, making it hard
to detect for ships to slow down in time.
And then they end up getting hit by
ships. They also get entangled by, you

(08:45):
know, a lot of crab pots or lobster pots,
the fishing lines on those pots.
And so when they go into a new area and
that new area is not used to having North
Atlantic right whales, you start to see a
lot more deaths happen because they're
coming into new territory because of
climate change because it's warmer.
That's where their food is going.
So humans have to adapt. They have to
adapt faster than the whales because
that's the whales. That's their ocean.

(09:07):
That's where they go. They don't. It's
really hard to direct them anywhere
different. And so we start to see that
happen. We don't want to see that happen
long term for the gray whale. So we have
to adapt even faster. Luckily, it seems
people like the Coast Guard and ferry
operators are working together in the San
Francisco Bay area. That's an important
aspect that people want to protect these
whales. People are in a good area where

(09:28):
environmental protection is a problem.
And I think that's really important for
what we want for these gray whales. So
love to hear your thoughts on this. Do
you think this is the start of a dire
future for these gray whales? Or do you
think we can say them? Love to hear your
thoughts. Hit me up with a comment down
below if you're watching this on YouTube.
And of course, if you're listening to
this on Apple podcast, Spotify, or your

(09:48):
favorite podcast app, just let me know
how you feel. You can hit me up on
Instagram at how to protect the ocean.
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.
And I'll see you next time.