On the coasts of Washington state, since March, 21 dead gray whales have been found, many appearing thin and weakened.
According to researcher John Calambokidis, founder of the Cascadia Research Collective, the situation reflects a precipitous decline in the populations of this species, which until recently was considered a successful conservation example.
Signs of malnutrition and disorientation
The whales found showed signs of lack of food, excessive sweating, and strange behaviors, such as orientation problems. Scientists believe that the melting of Arctic ice is altering the nutrient cycle that feeds amphipods, their main prey.
- Climate change: the ice melts earlier, favoring the growth of phytoplankton in the water column.
- This reduces the nutrients that previously reached the seabed, affecting the availability of amphipods.
- The result: less food for the whales during their critical feeding period in the Arctic.
Migration and vulnerability
Northeastern Pacific gray whales travel each year to the Arctic to feed for 4 to 6 months. Then they fast for 6 to 8 months while migrating to the lagoons of Mexico to reproduce. This cycle makes them extremely dependent on Arctic productivity.
According to researcher Josh Stewart (Oregon State University), it is unlikely that the Arctic will again support 25,000 gray whales as in the past. Currently, NOAA estimates suggest that the population has dropped from 27,430 individuals a decade ago to 12,950 in 2025.
Alternative feeding strategies
Not all whales depend exclusively on the Arctic:
- Sounders: about 12 whales that feed on ghost shrimp in the Puget Sound.
- Pacific Feeding Group: more than 200 whales that spend summers in coastal waters of California, Oregon, Washington, and Canada.
These groups show some resilience to the general decline, suggesting that there may be alternative feeding strategies to face long-term “environmental storms.”
Conservation history
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, gray whales were devastated by commercial hunting, reduced to just a few hundred individuals. After the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the species quickly recovered and was removed from the endangered species list in 1994. However, the advances now seem to be fading.
The finding of 21 dead whales in three months reflects a structural problem linked to climate change and the alteration of the Arctic ecosystem.
Although scientists do not believe the species is in danger of extinction, they warn that the current abundance is much lower than in the past and that recovery is in unknown territory.
