A gray whale dives near Whidbey Island as seen from a Pacific Whale Watch Association vessel, May 4, 2022, in Washington state. Federal researchers indicate the gray whale population along the West Coast is showing signs of recovery five years after hundreds washed up dead on West Coast beaches, from Alaska to Mexico. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
April 1, 2024
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April 1, 2024 3:45 p.m.
West Coast whale population recovers 5 years after hundreds washed up ashore
The population began to decline after numbering about 27,000 whales in 2016. The mortality event hits its peak between Dec. 17, 2018, and Dec. 31, 2020, the agency said. It involved 690 dead gray whales that washed ashore from Alaska to Mexico. Of those, 347 were in the U.S., 316 in Mexico and 27 in Canada.