"It's almost a deadly maze that they have to make it through."
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility noted that the 145 reported strandings as of July 6 already outpace yearly numbers from the previous three years of the federal Unusual Mortality Event designation.
"As of July 6 of this year, 145 gray whale stranding deaths have been reported, a rate already exceeding yearly totals recorded during the last three years of the declared 'Unusual Mortality Event,'" according to a written statement from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
The group also detailed how unobserved mortalities vastly exceed the visible shore strandings.
"The stranding numbers are only the tip of the iceberg since most gray whale mortality is unobserved as carcasses often sink before they wash up on the beach," according to the statement from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
Using mathematical ratios, the group projected a catastrophic outlook for the Pacific population over the last two years.
"Using a very conservative ratio of 9-to-1 for the 145 observed stranded whales so far in 2026, this means that another 1,305 may have died offshore, making their true total mortality rate so far this year likely around 1,450," according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
"For the 324 stranded mortalities reported in 2025 and so far in 2026, total gray whale mortalities could range from 2,268 [to] 8,100.
Scientists consider this a 'Catastrophic Mortality Event.'"
Experts Call for Urgent Action
Alaska marine ecologist and PEER Board of Directors Chairman Rick Steiner stated that the massive loss of life within a vulnerable population requires immediate global concern.
