Overview
- The deaths total 22 so far this season in Washington state and Puget Sound, a tally reported by multiple outlets on Monday that has prompted necropsies and public alerts from agencies.
- Malnutrition was the most common finding in examined carcasses, with researchers linking the condition to reduced amphipod and benthic prey on Arctic feeding grounds.
- Officials and researchers say earlier sea-ice loss, changing oceanography and rising ocean acidity can shift food to the water column and away from the seafloor where gray whales feed.
- Investigators have also documented human-caused injuries this season, with at least four whales showing signs consistent with ship strikes and one showing recent entanglement.
- NOAA Fisheries, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Cascadia Research are monitoring live malnourished whales, issuing community alerts and studying population risk for a species Washington lists as 'sensitive.'