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Gray whale washed ashore on America's West coast

After a stranded humpback whale had been recorded in Samoa, CA, just two weeks ago, another stranding event occurred about 300 miles to the South on California’s Agate beach. The gray whale was found to be already dead and in a slightly decayed state when it was discovered washed ashore. Nevertheless, samples of the adult male’s blubber and other measurements were taken to pinpoint what caused its death in the first place.


A gray whale washed ashore on Agate Beach, CA. Picture by Dawn Goley.

Dawn Goley, the director of the Marine Mammal Education and Research Program says the stranding comes at an unusual time. The “common season” in which the animals make their 12,000 mile journey down the coast towards the warm lagoons in Mexico has only just started in Alaska, and the first ones, usually pregnant females hurrying to get to the warm lagoons, are not expected to pass by California until late November.


With the entangled humpback found in Samoa and this unexpected gray whale's occurrence, State Fish and Wildlife officials decided to delay the start of the Dungeness crab fishing season by a week. This will hopefully give the prevalent whales enough time to vacate the area and lower the threat of whale and sea turtle entanglements.

The gray whale’s death is another one to be added to the list of 212 stranding cases the West coast had seen this season (see map below). The NOAA Fisheries declared the situation an “Unusual Mortality Event”, thereby freeing up more resources to uncover why gray whales are dying at higher rates than usual. Scientists at the NOAA press conference in May pointed out that “the recorded beachings so far this year likely represent only a small fraction of the actual gray whale deaths since the animals […] are more likely to sink into the oceans depths than wash ashore”.


With the long journey just beginning, it is very important now to understand what caused the animal’s death and how it fits into the story. Some of the first whales seen travelling along the coast have been reported to be quite skinny as we covered in this article. The NOAA fisheries are urging the people to report any distressed animal to the right authorities immediately to facilitate the necessary response. This is especially true for the more isolated parts of the country as it plays “a vital role in helping scientists to collect [the] data” necessary to understand what is causing the die-off.


An unusual number of stranding events occurred on the North American West coast during this season. Graphic by NOAA.

You can find the full article and the contact page in case of strandings here: https://www.northcoastjournal.com/NewsBlog/archives/2019/11/06/gray-whale-found-washed-up-on-agate-beach


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