From the Arctic to Baja: A Whale Tragedy signals a global crisis

At least 94 gray whales have washed ashore dead this season along Baja California Sur (MX), Orange County, and San Francisco (US)—a figure that likely represents only 10% of total mortalities, implying ~940 fatalities in our oceans so far.

Many whales, especially adult males, have been found severely emaciated, a clear sign they’re starving as their Arctic feeding grounds collapse. As the Arctic warms nearly four times faster than the global average, sea ice loss is disrupting the under‑ice algae blooms that support benthic amphipods and zooplankton, gray whales’ primary food source .

Meanwhile, industrial pressures in the Bering Sea are intensifying:
• Offshore gold‑mining leases near Nome soared from just 11 tracts in 2020 to 89 active leases today
• The dredge‑mining fleet exploded by 1,900%, from 5 vessels in 2008 to over 100 by 2016
• Commercial trawling has shifted northward by roughly 20% since 2010 as fleets follow migrating fish, further destroying benthic habitat

This is not just a whale tragedy, it’s a climate, humanitarian, and economic emergency. Our oceans, forests, and coastlines are nearing irreversible tipping points.

Whales are vital sentinels of ocean health, their decline is a warning flare for us all.

This is our final call:
• Reduce carbon emissions to near zero.
• Enforce strict limits on extractive industries (mining, trawling, LNG shipping).
• Protect ≥50% of land and sea in their natural state.

To restore. To protect. To survive.

— Regina Domingo, Nakawe Project Founder and director at Baja Adventures #RegenerativeTourism
www.nakaweproject.org
www.bajaadventures.com

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