Overview
- The peer-reviewed analysis, published Monday in Frontiers in Marine Science, matched 21 photo-identified whales to carcasses and set a minimum 18% mortality among 114 visitors since 2018.
- Investigators documented 70 carcasses in the region from 2018 to 2025, with 30 killed by vessels and many others malnourished as whales navigate a busy bottleneck that makes them hard to spot.
- At least six gray whales died in the Bay Area from mid-March to early April 2026, reinforcing the study’s finding that recent visitors face high local risk.
- Scientists tie the Bay detours to food stress linked to warming Arctic seas, and NOAA reports the broader population has fallen by more than 50% since 2016 with few calves seen.
- Officials and researchers are pushing monitoring, more necropsies, operator training, route reviews, and slow-speed zones, including a voluntary 10-knot program along much of California’s coast starting April 22.