The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is investigating the death of a grey whale discovered on May 11 at Miller Creek beach near Skidegate. The department’s Marine Mammal Response Team is collaborating with the Council of the Haida Nation to coordinate a necropsy to determine the cause of death.
“DFO will not be able to confirm cause of death until after the necropsy is performed and final necropsy reports are complete, which usually takes two to three months,” said Lara Sloan, spokesperson for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “Where possible, DFO’s marine mammal response team works with partners to recover biological samples and conduct necropsies on dead whales to further our understanding of the populations and the causes of death. Necropsies are done in partnership with the Province of British Columbia, as a member of the B.C. Marine Mammal Response Network.”
Grey whales are found only in the North Pacific. In 2017, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada assessed them as three distinct populations, two of which are considered endangered. Sloan said DFO is not yet able to confirm which of the three populations the deceased whale belonged to.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of grey whale strandings along the Pacific coast this spring. In Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, at least 70 grey whales have died since the start of the year, with researchers observing the lowest number of mother-calf pairs ever recorded in Laguna San Ignacio. Scientists attribute the deaths to malnutrition, likely due to diminished food availability in the whales’ Arctic feeding grounds.
Along the U.S. West Coast, Washington state has documented seven grey whale strandings since early April, a figure higher than typically observed at this point in the season. Most of the whales showed signs of malnutrition, including depleted blubber layers and empty stomachs. Two whales suffered human-induced fatalities: one from a vessel collision and another from entanglement.
These events follow an Unusual Mortality Event (UME) declared from 2019 to 2023, during which 690 grey whale strandings were recorded across the Pacific coast. The UME was attributed to ecosystem changes in the whales’ Arctic feeding areas, leading to food scarcity, malnutrition, decreased birth rates and increased mortality.
Along with this grey whale, another grey washed ashore on Long Beach near Tofino, and a Bryde’s whale, a species not generally seen north of California, has washed up on Vancouver Island, bringing the total to three in May.
DFO is urging the public to report any incidents of whale harassment, disturbance, vessel collisions or entanglements. Sightings can be reported by calling 1-800-465-4336 or emailing [email protected]. Mariners may also report incidents to the Canadian Coast Guard’s Marine Mammal Desk at 1-833-339-1020 or via marine traffic radio.
