Tell NOAA: Stop Delaying Protections for Gray Whales

Gray whales are washing up dead along the West Coast — and the Trump administration has already missed a legal deadline to decide whether renewed Endangered Species Act protections may be warranted.

At least 187 gray whales have stranded and died so far in 2026 — each one a remarkable animal from a population known for some of the longest migrations on Earth. Scientists believe the true toll is much higher because many whales that die at sea are never found.

This is more than a troubling fluctuation. It is a crisis demanding action.

The Eastern North Pacific gray whale population has fallen dramatically from its numbers a decade ago.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) now estimates about 17,750 whales, compared with a peak of roughly 27,000 around 2016. Although that’s an increase from last year’s historic low, the population remains far below its 2016 peak.

Many of the whales found dead have been emaciated. Others face deadly ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.

Climate change is making matters worse. Rapid warming and disappearing sea ice in the Arctic are disrupting the food web these enormous animals depend on during their annual migrations.

Gray whales were once one of America’s great endangered species success stories. Federal protections helped their population recover enough that they were removed from the Endangered Species Act list in 1994.

Now that recovery is unraveling before our eyes.

Last year, conservation groups formally petitioned NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to restore Endangered Species Act protections for Eastern North Pacific gray whales. The agency was required to make an initial finding on that petition by August 24.

That deadline has passed. NOAA NMFS still has not acted.

Gray whales should not have to keep dying while federal officials drag their feet.

The Endangered Species Act exists for moments exactly like this — when a species faces a dangerous decline and needs strong federal action to survive.

Please sign the petition and demand that NOAA NMFS stop delaying and act now to protect gray whales before more of these magnificent animals die.

The petition to NOAA NMFS reads: Immediately issue the overdue finding on the petition to protect Eastern North Pacific gray whales under the Endangered Species Act and move forward with restoring the federal safeguards these whales urgently need. With the population declining dramatically and whales facing starvation, ship strikes, fishing-gear entanglement and other threats, further delay could have devastating consequences. Use the full power of the Endangered Species Act to give gray whales a fighting chance to recover.
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Source: https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/lawsuit-launched-to-protect-imperiled-gray-whales-2026-08-25/

Photo: North Pacific gray whale breaching credit NOAA/Dave Weller