"The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday it is launching an investigation into the high number of gray whale deaths reported on the West Coast this year to determine whether environmental, human or disease-related causes are to blame.
The investigation was triggered by NOAA’s official declaration of an “unusual mortality event” for the eastern North Pacific population of gray whales, a designation the agency defines as an unexpected and significant die-off of any marine mammal group. More than 60 of these events have been declared since 1991.
Seventy gray whale carcasses have been spotted along the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska since January, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. That’s the highest number since 2000, when more than 100 gray whales were reported dead."
Leila Miller reports for the Los Angeles Times May 31, 2019.
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