Gray Whale
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A small Western Pacific population was discovered in the 1970s and is considered a critically endangered population. Historical records indicate a now extinct population once inhabited the Atlantic Ocean in the seventeenth century.
Gray whales are medium sized baleen whales that grow to approximately forty five feet in length. Unlike other baleen whales, they are bottom feeders, resting or hovering along the bottom of shallow coastal waters to sift small invertebrate from the seabeds.
They split their time between winter breeding grounds in the lagoons near Baja, migrating north along the West Coast, to their summer feeding grounds around Alaska. The biannual migration is a popular whale watching activity for local residents.
Their near shore habitat made them a prime target for early whalers, leading to their population declines. The 1948 treaty establishing the International Whaling Commission (IWC) offered them some protection, however population declines were not reversed around until the establishment of the whaling moratorium.
Current population estimates vary, with 20,000 now quoted as a rough estimate. A significant population decline, perhaps in the 10,000 range, was recorded in the early part of the decade, attributed to changes in ocean currents and food supply. Despite recent population declines, in 2008, the IUCN listed them as a whale species of least concern.
In 1997 member states of the IWC agreed to allow the Makah Indian Tribe and Russian natives of the Chukotka region to harvest a limited number of gray whales. The Makah are waiting on a decision regarding their Environmental Impact Statement, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), prior to the resumption of whaling.
California designated the Gray Whale its official state marine mammal in 1975.
© 2009. Patricia A. Michaels