Although reports of gray whales Strandings in the Pacific coast have increased in the last year however, there is at least one area where these whales seem to be doing well. Many gray whales that are migrate across Mexico towards Sitka, their Arctic feed grounds have been making stops in Sitka during their journey.
Gray whales often visit Sitka however, over the last few years, biologists and boaters have noticed an unusual rise in activity of gray whales.
“I was talking to a person in the parking lot, who claimed that at one time in the last year, he was estimating 700 whales, including gray whales” stated Blain Anderson, the captain of the sailing boat Bob.
Seven hundred may be on the top level however marine biologist Lauren Wild says the number of gray whales living in Sitka Sound used to hover between 10 and 20. Since the beginning of 2019, it’s been in the vicinity of 150. According to Wild said, “it’s whale soup out here.”
The majority of news coverage about gray whales over the past few years has been rather disappointing. In May the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared an ongoing ” unusual mortality event” due to the rising numbers of gray whales that were stranded on the West coast. Prior to that, a marine heat wave, also called “the Blob,” devastated Pacific-coast fauna from seabirds to whales.
In Sitka What, however?
“If there are people who have seen whales, they’re moving around and playing with one another,” Wild said. “They’re seeing lots of feeding behavior, and a large amount of social interaction. A few people are observing the appearance of mating.”
Similar to humpbacks, frequently found within Sitka Sound, gray whales utilize baleen for feeding. In contrast to humpbacks they are found in shallow waters by filtering sand and silt to reach tiny creatures like shrimp. Gray whales are smaller, and are often covered with parasitic barnacles as well as long scars caused by stomping on rocks.
Wild is usually interested in humpbacks as well as sperm whales. However, the influx of gray whales has attracted her attention. Although it’s not certain what’s the reason for this baleen-covered barnacle influx in the oceans that make up Sitka Sound, Wild has a few theories.
“We thought about whether the heatwave in the ocean could have impacted certain aspects of the security of the food sources within the Bering Sea as well as the Chukchi seas in heat of the summer months,” Wild said. “And could it be that this might have caused these whales to seek out more suitable places to hunt during their migration routes, which means they were not relying as heavily on these sources of food.”
The source of food? It could be herring eggs on the shoreline of Kruzof island.
“If you take a look at maps, the top of Cape Edgecumbe is right along the coast’s outer edge,” Wild said. “If whales are passing by and happen to be at the right moment and they happen to be there, they could begin to see more of the herring spawn and it could entice them to investigate.”
Pacific herring are spawned each season in water around Sitka in Sitka, and these fish – as well as their eggs are a major source of food for marine creatures as well as humans. Herring roe found in Sitka is already an very debated resource as well as these enthusiastic mysticetes might have joined in the battle.
Wild claimed that the time and place of sightings of gray whales are in line with areas where herring spawning. She also cited observations made by Alaska Department of Fish and Game surveys of spawning sites:
“They’ll go diving, and they’ll see gray whales in their dive boats and other things,” Wild said. “So they’re definitely in the same place where the eggs are. They’ve also seen several instances, you know, the kelp beds look kind like shredded kelp which they’re imagining might be gray whales coming through, sucking eggs out of the kelp, and laying about in the water.”
Wild hopes to verify what the whales are eating regardless of whether fieldwork becomes messy.
“Obviously you don’t know when your pet is going to vomit,” Wild said. “So it’s important to be in the right spot at the appropriate moment. We’ll make use of a tiny skim, similar to the net of a fish pond which is fine mesh to pick it all up. It’s also possible to scoop it up using water from the form of Nalgene or some other container.”
Knowing what the whales eat is just one piece to the equation. Wild hopes to create a database that will allow tracking and identification of the individual whales in order to determine the whales that are headed to Sitka and from where they’re heading on their migration routes.
In the meantime Both Wild and Anderson recommend boaters be wary of gray whales that could appear more likely interact with humans than the normal Sitka Humpback. In Mexico boaters can legally approach and interact with gray whales.
“They suffer from chin bumps,” Anderson said. “And I’ve seen images with people kissing. Perhaps it’s something they’ve grown used to.”
The whales could ignore boundaries of political nature However, Alaska boaters must continue to adhere to rules of the Marine Mammal Protection Act – to prevent whales from being harassed, NOAA advises boaters to remain 100 yards away, and switch off engines in the event that a whale comes close.
We’re not sure what’s going to transpire in the near future for these new visitors or what implications they could have on our West-Coast Gray whales population however, for the moment it appears that the struggling population is finding a refuge in Sitka eating, socializing and – as Anderson has seen a couple of times mating.
As Anderson said, “It was all supposed to be happening down to Mexico However, it seems like they’re still having fun higher up in – how we like to call it – the romantic Sitka Sound.”
If you want to report a stranded injured dead or injured marine mammal contact toll-free the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Statewide 24-hour Stranding Hotline at (877) (925) 7773.
