Gray whales dying in San Francisco Bay

Fahad Redha

April 15, 2026
3 min read

Gray whales, known for long migration that takes as far as the Arctic and Mexico, are behaving in unexpected ways as climate change affects ocean conditions. A number of the animals have been spotted in unfamiliar areas such as the heavily tracked waters of the San Francisco Bay. Researchers studying an unusually high number of deaths of whales found that nearly a fifth seen entering the Bay died, many of them due to boat strikes.

“Gray whales have a low profile to the water when they surface, and this makes them difficult to see in conditions like fog which are common to San Francisco Bay,” said Josephine Slaathaug of Sonoma State University, lead author of the article in Frontiers in Marine Science. “Additionally, San Francisco Bay is a highly trafficked waterway, and the Golden Gate Strait serves as a bottleneck through which all traffic and whales must enter and exit.”

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Gray whales usually do not feed during the migration either to or from their tropical breeding grounds. Instead, they rely mainly on the food consumed in the Arctic. Warming conditions however are affecting their food sources, leaving them vulnerable to climate change.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that their numbers have halved since 2016, with calf sightings becoming rarer.

Historically, San Francisco Bay was not a part of their migration route. That changed in 2018 when they began appearing there. But that also coincided with a rise in whale deaths in the area.

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About Author

Fahad Redha

Fahad is the Content Editor at EyeOnLondon, overseeing the publication’s editorial output across news, culture, and lifestyle. With a background in journalism from the University of the Creative Arts, he brings a broad range of experience from local London reporting in Kensington & Chelsea, where he held roles including motoring, events, and health editor. At EyeOnLondon, Fahad plays a central role in shaping content and maintaining editorial standards. His work spans everything from daily news to feature coverage, with a particular strength in motoring and events. He also incorporates photography into his reporting, adding a visual layer to many of his stories. Fahad joined EyeOnLondon in February 2021.