Gray whales may also be vulnerable to vessel strikes in the inland waters of Washington and in feeding areas along the Pacific coast. West Coast, which has some of the world’s heaviest vessel traffic associated with some of the largest ports in the country. Gray whales are vulnerable to vessel strikes because they feed and migrate along the U.S. Vessel StrikesĬollisions with all sizes and types of vessels are one of the primary threats to marine mammals, particularly large whales. Events such as these result in fatigue, compromised feeding ability, or severe injury, which may ultimately lead to death. Once entangled, whales may drag and swim with attached gear for long distances or be anchored in place and unable to swim. Gray whales are at high risk of becoming entangled in fishing gear. World map providing approximate representation of the gray whale's range. Although western and eastern stocks of gray whales were thought to be relatively isolated from each other, recent satellite tagging data and photo-identification and genetic matches have shown that at least some western North Pacific gray whales migrate across the northern Gulf of Alaska, and along the west coast of British Columbia, the United States, and Mexico. From mid-February to May, eastern North Pacific gray whales can be seen migrating northward along the U.S. Calves are born during migration or in the shallow lagoons and bays of Mexico from early January to mid-February. In the fall, eastern North Pacific gray whales migrate from their summer feeding grounds, heading south along the coast of North America to spend the winter in their wintering and calving areas off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Most of the eastern North Pacific stock gray whales spend the summer feeding in the northern Bering and Chukchi seas, but some feed along the Pacific coast during the summer, in waters off of Southeast Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and northern California. The western North Pacific stock or DPS, primarily found along the coast of eastern Asia.The eastern North Pacific stock or DPS, found along the west coast of North America.There are two geographic distributions of gray whales in the North Pacific: Gray whales are found mainly in shallow coastal waters in the North Pacific Ocean, although during migration, they do sometimes cross deep waters far from shore. We strive to reduce the harmful effects of human activities, such as fisheries interactions, noise, and pollution, through management actions based on science, public input, and public outreach. Our scientists use a variety of innovative techniques to study, protect, and rescue gray whales in distress (e.g., disentanglement and stranding response). NOAA Fisheries works to conserve gray whales through collaborative management, integrated science, partnerships, and outreach. On their migration routes they face threats from vessel strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, and other sources of disturbance. Gray whales make one of the longest annual migrations of any mammal, traveling about 10,000 miles round-trip and in some cases upwards of 14,000 miles. Gray whales are known for their curiosity toward boats in some locations and are the focus of whale watching and ecotourism along the west coast of North America. International conservation measures were enacted in the 1930s and 1940s to protect whales from over-exploitation, and in the mid-1980s the International Whaling Commission instituted a moratorium on commercial whaling. Commercial whaling rapidly brought both Pacific populations to near extinction. Gray whales earned the nickname “devil fish” because of their aggressive reactions when harpooned. Once common throughout the Northern Hemisphere, gray whales are now only regularly found in the North Pacific Ocean where there are two extant populations, one in the eastern and one in the western North Pacific.
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