LSIESP 2020 Annual Gray Whale Report is Now Available - Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program

Winter 2020 characterized by the 3rd consecutive winter of the whales’ late arrival to the lagoons,

low calf counts, and increased numbers of “skinny” & “emaciated” whales… a cause for concern...

The 2020 winter gray whale reproductive season in Laguna San Ignacio and Bahía Magdalena was the third consecutive breeding season (2018, 2019, and 2020) that was characterized by: 1) an approximate two week delayed arrival of the whales to the lagoons; 2) very low numbers of calves-of-the-year; 3) increased adult mortality in the lagoons, and 4) an increase in the percent of “skinny” or “mal-nourished” adult whales observed compared to the previous seven winters (2011-2017). Unfortunately these observations continue to be mirrored in the ongoing Unusual Mortality Event (UME) that began in the spring and summer of 2019 and continues in 2020 (NOAA 2020).

And then, the world-wide outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic in mid-March 2020 resulted in all field activities being suspended, the Laguna San Ignacio field research station closed, and all researchers and students returned to their universities and homes for duration of the 2020 winter gray whale breeding season in the lagoons and aggregation areas of Baja California Sur, Mexico.