Pacific gray whales facing 'catastrophic' die-off as climate crisis hits food supply

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/10/pacific-gray-whales-population-climate-change

Trump administration urged to relist a species in ‘very, very serious trouble’ under Endangered Species Act

Tom Perkins
Fri 10 Jul 2026 09.00 EDT

Climate change is driving a gray whale “catastrophic mortality event” in the Pacific Ocean as melting sea ice depletes food sources and the animals starve, environmental groups warn.

Meanwhile, a range of other issues, like ship strikes, oil spills, microplastic pollution, algal blooms and Russian harvesting are also probably contributing to the die-off that has nearly halved the whales’ estimated population. It fell from 20,000 in 2019 to fewer than 13,000 this year, and the deaths appear to be accelerating.

Environmental groups have petitioned the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) to relist the gray whale under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), which would alleviate some problems, but its approval is a long shot as the Trump administration moves to gut wildlife protections.

The whales are in “very, very serious trouble”, said Rick Steiner, an Alaska marine ecologist and chair of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility’s (Peer’s) board of directors.

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