Gray whale deaths along the west coast have reached alarming numbers, prompting researchers to declare a catastrophic mortality event.
Researchers with the environmental organization Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, say that gray whales are suffering a “catastrophic mortality event,” citing rapidly rising strandings and population declines.
At least 145 gray whales have been found stranded along the Pacific Coast so far in 2026, including dozens in Oregon and Washington, raising concerns about the health of a species that migrates past the Pacific Northwest every year.
Why Researchers Say This Is a “Catastrophic Mortality Event”
In recent years, gray whales have been washing ashore at much higher rates than they did over the previous two decades.
Between 2006 and 2023, an average of 43 gray whale strandings were reported each year.
That number climbed sharply in 2025, when 179 gray whale strandings were documented. Another 145 whales have already been documented during the first half of 2026.
Researchers say those numbers may represent only a small fraction of the actual deaths occurring in the ocean. Most whale carcasses never wash ashore and instead sink to the seafloor.
According to PEER, between 2,500 and 8,000 gray whales may have died during 2025 and 2026, based on scientific estimates.
Why are gray whale washing up on Pacific Northwest shores?
Gray whales migrate each year between breeding lagoons in Mexico and feeding grounds in the Arctic, passing the Oregon coast during both spring and winter migrations.
PNW beaches have reported a high number of stranded gray whales this year, including several near Florence and Yachats in Oregon, and one juvenile that swam up the Willapa River in Washington.
Researchers say many of the whales examined have shown signs of severe malnutrition. Scientists believe changes in Arctic feeding grounds are reducing the availability of the amphipods and other bottom-dwelling prey that gray whales depend on to build energy reserves, according to PEER.
Other threats can also contribute to whale deaths, including ship strikes, fishing gear entanglements, harmful algal blooms, pollution, and disease.
Scientists note that not every stranded whale dies from the same cause, and many cases remain under investigation.
Echoes of the last die-off
The latest deaths come only a few years after NOAA closed an Unusual Mortality Event that lasted from 2019 through 2023.
During that event, 690 gray whale strandings were documented across the United States, Canada, and Mexico after ecosystem changes in Arctic feeding areas left many whales in poor nutritional condition.
Scientists are still evaluating whether the current spike will become a new federally designated Unusual Mortality Event, but conservation groups say the trend is alarming.
What it means for the Pacific Northwest
Gray whales are among the Pacific Northwest coast’s most iconic marine mammals.
Thousands migrate past Oregon and Washington each year. Oregon is also home to a small group of resident gray whales, often called “summer gray whales,” that remain along the coast to feed instead of continuing their migration.
While visitors may still have opportunities to spot healthy whales this season, marine experts ask anyone who discovers a stranded whale to keep a safe distance and report it to authorities rather than approaching the animal.
Written by Ginnie Sandoval, a news and travel writer for Pacific Northwest Crossing. Sandoval covers travel tips, news, destinations, places to eat, and hidden gems across the Pacific Northwest. She can be reached at pnwcrossing@ramsanmedia.com.