The number of gray whale calves migrating with their mothers along the California Coast this year was one of the lowest on record. The population is still regaining ground after an Unusual Mortality Event that resulted in a sharp decline in overall population numbers.
While the eastern North Pacific gray whale population that migrates annually along the West Coast has rebounded in overall abundance, the production of calves has remained low. A team from NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center found that this year’s count was close to the record low reported in 2022 (see graph) with an estimated number of 221 (95%CI = 161 – 295) mother-calf pairs.
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