Why Are So Many Gray Whales Dying Along the Pacific Coast?

A gray whale mother-calf pair migrating along the central California coast from the wintering grounds in Mexico to the summer feeding grounds in the Arctic. Long term ocean warming and changes in sea ice have affected supplies of the high-fat prey that these cetaceans, researchers say. Photo Courtesy of NOAA Fisheries.Photo Courtesy of NOAA. Since the start of this year, at least 187 gray whales have washed up dead or dying up and down the Pacific coast, making 2026 one of the deadliest years for the species in recent history. Marine conservationists are calling this a “catastrophic mortality event.” And on Tuesday, August 25, three conservation groups — Oasis Earth, the International Marine Mammal Project, and the Center for Biological Diversity — sent the Trump administration an intent to sue notice for failing to protect the species. In this episode of Terra Verde, Earth Island Journal editor-in-chief and cohost Maureen Nandini Mitra talks with conservation biologists Mark Palmer, associate director of the International Marine Mammal Project, a Berkeley-based environmental group that works to protect dolphins, whales, and their ocean environment (and an Earth Island project), and Rick Steiner founder of Oasis Earth, a global consultancy that focuses on policy solutions to the environmental crisis, to understand what is causing this spike in whale mortalities and what can be done to prevent it. The post Why Are So Many Gray Whales Dying Along the Pacific Coast? appeared first on KPFA.