a day ago
Dead whale washes ashore in Richmond
RICHMOND, Calif. - A dead whale was found along the Point Isabel shoreline in Richmond Friday morning.
The mammal is one of more than a dozen whales found dead in the Bay Area this year.
Earlier this month, another whale washed up on Montara Beach in San Mateo County.
According to the Sausalito-based Marine Mammal Center, they've responded to 17 dead gray whales in the Bay Area. It's unclear what species the Richmond whale is.
Five of the dead whales have been found in recent weeks, we reported last week.
Researchers with the California Academy of Sciences and the Marine Mammal Center said last week that they haven't seen so many dead whales in the region since what they call the "unusual mortality event" between 2019 and 2023.
There have been 33 gray whale sightings confirmed by photo identification so far this year, compared to only four in 2024.
"The migration is a little bit later than it has been in years past, and we're seeing more whales enter San Francisco Bay," Kathi George, the director of cetacean conservation biology at the Marine Mammal Center, told KTVU. "The entrance to San Francisco is a very busy area with lots of vessel traffic."
If you spot a whale, you're asked to take a picture and upload it to the Whale Alert app or contact the Marine Mammal Center.
