whales Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Lots of whales spotted around offshore wind farm zones along West Coast

By Tom Banse December 20, 2022

Northwest scientists are looking into the possible impacts that offshore wind farms might have on marine wildlife.

The federal government has commissioned Oregon State University to look into the possible impacts of offshore wind farms on marine wildlife. In the first year of this four-year project, the researchers spotted sizable numbers of seabirds and whales — including the largest animal on Earth — in the Oregon and Northern California areas that could one day host floating wind farms.Read More

Reducing collisions between ships and whales? There’s apps for that, but they need work

By Tom Banse November 8, 2022

A way to prevent large ships from striking and killing whales is to transmit alerts to the officers at the helm when whales are nearby.

Fortunately, it doesn't happen very often in the Pacific Northwest that ships collide with whales. But when it does, it's upsetting, tragic and the whale probably dies. Three separate teams have developed smartphone-based systems that can alert commercial mariners to watch out, slow down or change course when whales have been sighted nearby. A recent ride-along on a big Read More

Watching For Whales – And Their Food

By Courtney Flatt June 21, 2022

On top of the Bell M. Shimada's flybridge, scientist Dawn Barlow searches for any signs of whales.

Scientists aboard the Bell M. Shimada keep an eye out for whales. One scientist hopes to help predict where whales will show up by studying the food they eat.Read More

Record Numbers Of Bigg’s Killer Whale Sightings And Humpback Calves In Salish Sea

By Tom Banse November 1, 2021

Salish Sea whale watchers were treated in May 2021 to humpback whale mother Slate surfacing with her young son Malachite.

Whale watchers have spotted a record number of humpback calves in inland Pacific Northwest waters this season. There was also a record streak of Bigg's killer whale sightings that just ended, according to a local whale research nonprofit. Those observations offer some good news to offset the ongoing concern about the survival of the Northwest's iconic, but critically Read More

A Group Of Gray Whales Survives Die-Off With An Annual Detour To Puget Sound

By Bellamy Pailthorp June 9, 2021

The gray whale known as Dubknuck has been coming to Puget Sound since 1991. Scientists believe a small pod of these whales has survived several die off events by developing a new feeding strategy. Parker Miles Blohm/KNKX

If you take a beach walk in springtime around Whidbey or Camano Island, north of Seattle, there's a good chance you could spot a 40-foot-long gray whale, feeding in the shallows just offshore. Or you might just see a fin or part of one's tail bobbing along the waterline.Read More

New Washington Whale-Watching Boat Rules To Help Struggling Orcas Take Effect In 2021

By NWPB News December 26, 2020

An endangered female orca leaps from the water while breaching in Puget Sound west of Seattle. The orca is from one of three groups of southern resident killer whales that frequent the inland waters of Washington. CREDIT: ELAINE THOMPSON/AP

According to the rules approved by the commission last week, from July through September, commercial whale watching companies can view endangered Southern Resident orcas during two, two-hour periods daily, The Skagit Valley Herald reported.Read More

Dead Whale Left To Rot On Washington Beach Now On Its Way To Becoming Amazing Yard Art

By Tom Banse September 24, 2020

The skull of a gray whale that washed ashore in Puget Sound in 2019 will soon find its final resting place in a Jefferson County back yard. CREDIT: Mario Rivera

Last year, a couple who lives near Port Townsend, Washington, agreed to let the federal government drop off a dead gray whale to decompose on their semi-isolated beach. Now, the couple has a permit to keep the whale skeleton and will soon assemble the most amazing yard art.Read More

After 20 Years, Washington’s Makah Tribe Hopes To Hunt Whales Again

By NWPB News November 14, 2019

The tribe’s plans have been tied up in legal fights and layers of scientific review. The next step is a week-long administrative hearing that began Thursday in Seattle. Whatever the result, it’s likely to be stuck in further court challenges, as animal rights activists have vowed to block the practice they call unnecessary and barbaric.Read More

Judge Strikes Down Ballot Measure On Whale Watching Distance Rules In San Juan County

By Tom Banse August 19, 2019

Southern Resident orcas in the J pod made a rare 2019 appearance in inland waters on Thursday, August 15, near Lime Kiln State Park off of San Juan Island. (Image taken under the authority of NMFS permit No. 22141) MEGAN FARMER / KUOW

Whale watch tour companies have knocked a proposed orca protection initiative off the November ballot in San Juan County, Washington. The ballot measure would have asked voters to greatly increase the stand-off distance between boats and endangered killer whales.Read More

‘Humpback Comeback’ Delights Whale Watchers As Rescuers Study Surge And Warn Of Risks

By Tom Banse August 14, 2019

A humpback whale breaches in the Salish Sea. CREDIT: ISLAND ADVENTURES WHALE WATCHING

Humpback whales are resurfacing in big numbers in the Salish Sea, the Columbia River mouth and the Northwest coast. Along with excitement over the humpbacks' return comes concern about ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.Read More

Whale-Come To Washington! Biggest Animal On Earth Spotted Off Northwest Coast

By Tom Banse August 12, 2019

This blue whale was spotted by a Cascadia Research team about 17 nautical miles northwest of Grays Harbor, Washington, in late July. CREDIT: JOHN CALAMBOKIDIS / CASCADIA RESEARCH

A whale expert is reporting a rare sighting of blue whales off the Washington state coast. The largest animals on the planet have also been sighted in unusual numbers offshore of Oregon this summer.Read More

Rescuers Free Humpback Whale ‘Hogtied’ In Fishing Gear Off Northwest Washington Coast

By Tom Banse August 9, 2019

Specially trained responders cut free an entangled humpback whale off Tatoosh Island, Wash., in August 2019. PACIFIC NW LARGE WHALE ENTANGLEMENT RESPONSE NETWORK / NOAA PERMIT #18786-03

A badly entangled whale is swimming free again after a dramatic rescue off the Washington coast on Thursday evening. The 35-foot long humpback whale calmly allowed responders to cut it free of fishing gear, according to witnesses.Read More

Puget Sound Whale Watchers Accused Of Loving Endangered Orcas To Death

By NPR News June 18, 2019

The question of whether boat-based watching tours are really harmless has become more urgent in Washington state, where Southern Resident killer whales have been declining since the 1990s.Read More

Mind If We Drop Off A Dead Whale On Your Beach? Asking For A friend.

By Tom Banse June 14, 2019

This 40-foot gray whale drifted ashore north of Port Ludlow, Washington, on May 28 before being towed to a more isolated beach at the invitation of the landowners there. CREDIT: MARIO RIVERA

The tally of dead gray whales washing up on Pacific Northwest beaches during this year's northbound migration keeps going up. That's prompting an unusual request for volunteers from a federal agency.Read More

Canada Bans Keeping Whales And Dolphins In Captivity

By NPR News June 12, 2019

Parliament passed the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act in a move hailed by animal rights activists. Violations are punishable by fines of up to about US$150,000.Read More

Whale Strikes In Puget Sound Could Get More Common As Humpback Numbers Grow

By Anna Boiko-Weyrauch May 30, 2019

The diesel-powered jumbo ferry M/V Puyallup is in line for conversion to hybrid-electric propulsion. CREDIT: TOM BANSE/NW NEWS NETWORK

A launch, a thud, a trail of blood. NOAA believes it was a juvenile humpback whale that a Bainbridge Island-bound ferry hit in Elliot Bay a few minutes after its 8:15 p.m. departure Tuesday night.Read More

Dead Gray Whale Found On Olympic Coast Is 24th On Pacific Northwest Beaches This Year

By Tom Banse May 24, 2019

Responders examine a malnourished adult gray whale on April 15, 2019 after it was towed to a remote beach after initially being found floating near downtown Seattle. CREDIT: CASCADIA RESEARCH COLLECTIVE

Olympic National Park said a decomposing gray whale washed ashore Friday morning north of Kalaloch Campground. That makes the 24th dead whale stranding in Oregon and Washington this year during the northbound migration.Read More

Why Are So Many Gray Whales Washing Up Dead On Pacific Northwest Beaches?

By Tom Banse April 25, 2019

The peak stranding time for gray whales in the Pacific Northwest is normally April, May and June. But the federal agency NOAA Fisheries has already logged nine dead whales washed ashore in Washington and one in Oregon. That's on top of 21 strandings on California beaches since the beginning of the year.Read More

Charter Fishing Fleet Casts Wary Eye Toward Possible Fishing Cutbacks To Save Orcas

By Tom Banse April 24, 2019

Hula Girl is one of the remaining vessels in the Westport, Washington charter sport fishing fleet. TOM BANSE / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK

Pacific Northwesterners are undeniably fond of their endangered resident killer whales. Many locals are also fans of salmon fishing, a hobby that sustains charter fishing fleets in coastal harbors from Neah Bay, Washington, to Brookings, Oregon. But now there is a chance future fishing trips on the ocean could be curtailed to leave more food for the killer whales. Read More

U.S. Coast Guard Will Help Researchers Track Whales Along The West Coast

By Tom Banse October 25, 2018

Responders cut Dungeness crab fishing gear off this humpback whale in Monterey Bay in 2016. SCOTT BENSON / NOAA FISHERIES

The Oregon crab industry is putting up money to launch a new research study on where whales swim and feed along the Pacific Coast. The study stems from growing concern West Coast-wide about whales getting tangled in fishing gear.Read More

Scientists Sunk A Rare Blue Whale Skeleton. Now They Need Money To Bring It Back Up

By Tom Banse August 20, 2018

An OSU team salvaged the bones from this blue whale in late 2015. CREDIT: OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

There’s a set of massive whale bones resting on the bottom of the bay in Newport, Oregon. Scientists from Oregon State University put them there with a plan for a future display on shore. But they’re having trouble finding the money to retrieve the rare blue whale skeleton from beneath the waves.Read More