Although necropsies have yet to determine how the whales died, experts say they were very skinny, suggesting food scarcity may be contributing to mortality.
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Five grey whales, some skinny as “a bag of bones,” have been found dead off B.C.’s coast this year, according to an official with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
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Paul Cottrell, the marine mammal coordinator with the DFO’s Pacific region, said at a news conference this week that there are signs of more deaths to come, given the emaciated state of some of the whales.
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“This die-off — with four of them just in the last 10 days — is consistent with what we are seeing in Washington State. They are up to 15 in last couple of weeks … and similarly in California and Oregon,” he said.
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“Two of those four grey whales were extremely emaciated. I have never seen such poor body condition.”
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He noted that necropsies, which are being done with local First Nations, still need to confirm the cause of death, but in one of the latest necropsies performed in Sidney, the whale was found to have an infestation of lice.
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“It can actually eat the animal alive and it is actually very disturbing to see the poor shape of this animal.”
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Cottrell said these mammals have some of the longest migration patterns on the planet. They spend their winters in Mexico and then they travel north.
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“So what we are seeing is these mammals travelling north are not in a very good body condition. Unfortunately, it looks like the last feeding in the summer was not a great year,” he said.
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In 2016, the grey whale population peaked at about 28,000 and then there was a significant decrease in the population in 2018 and 2019. Cottrell said they continued to decline until about 2023 to about 14,000. In 2024, the population rebounded; however, mortality rates began climbing again last year.
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The worst year on record was 2019 when there were 11 deaths off the B.C. coast.
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“We’re hoping it’s just a blip, but the indications are that we’re likely going to see more mortalities,” said Cottrell, adding that the underlying consistent thing experts are seeing is “very skinny animals with certain animals that are just really a bag of bones.”
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The four whales recently found dead were all discovered off Vancouver Island.
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Wendy Szaniszlo, a scientist with the cetacean research program at the DFO, said they have been studying foraging and habitat use.
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“The grey whales are heading up from the breeding grounds right now,” she said, adding that research has shown that food abundance is declining in the Arctic and sub-Arctic feeding grounds.
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This is contributing to their malnutrition, lower breeding rates and mortality, she said.
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Scientists in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico are working together to use drones to take photos of the whales to learn more about what is contributing to the mortality rates.
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“As you can imagine, what we’ve found over the past few years is poor body condition, which is quite a concerning trend,” said Szaniszlo.
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She said climate change is contributing to changing ice conditions and warmer ocean temperatures. This is causing a decline in the whales’ prey and contributing to challenges finding food.
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