Source: abcnewsradioonline.com - Friday, May 31, 2019
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images (SAN FRANCISCO) -- The stranding of 70 gray whales along the United States' west coast is considered to be an "unusual mortality event" by the the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries. Thirty-seven gray whales have washed up in California, including more than a dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area, experts said during a NOAA conference call on Friday afternoon. The whale species have also been beached in Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Five gray whales have also beached in Canada, according to Michael Milstein, public affairs officer for NOAA Fisheries' west coast regional office. There are currently an estimated 27,000 gray whales that migrate in the eastern northern Pacific region, incliuding 1,600 calves, according to the NOAA, which cited a 2016 survey. This population estimate is considered to be "abundant" and "on par" with the estimates from 1987 to 1988, when there were 26,900, said Dave Weller, research wildlife biologist for the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California. The gray whales had a poor feeding season during summer and fall 2018 Researchers are trying to figure out whether the elevated die-offs are occurring due to environmental factors, disease or human activities, such as ship strikes, said Deborah Fauquier, veterinary medical officer for NOAA Fisheries. Once they narrow it down, scientists will then determine a response plan. Lately,
Source: Breaking News
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images (SAN FRANCISCO) -- The stranding of 70 gray whales along the United States' west coast is considered to be an "unusual mortality event" by the the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries. Thirty-seven gray whales have washed up in California, including more than a dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area, experts said during a NOAA conference call on Friday afternoon. The whale species have also been beached in Oregon, Washington and Alaska. Five gray whales have also beached in Canada, according to Michael Milstein, public affairs officer for NOAA Fisheries' west coast regional office. There are currently an estimated 27,000 gray whales that migrate in the eastern northern Pacific region, incliuding 1,600 calves, according to the NOAA, which cited a 2016 survey. This population estimate is considered to be "abundant" and "on par" with the estimates from 1987 to 1988, when there were 26,900, said Dave Weller, research wildlife biologist for the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California. The gray whales had a poor feeding season during summer and fall 2018 Researchers are trying to figure out whether the elevated die-offs are occurring due to environmental factors, disease or human activities, such as ship strikes, said Deborah Fauquier, veterinary medical officer for NOAA Fisheries. Once they narrow it down, scientists will then determine a response plan. Lately,
Source: Breaking News
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