DFO concerned about emaciated grey whales after 4 Vancouver Island deaths in April<\/p>\n
Published 5:30 pm Wednesday, April 22, 2026<\/p>\n
Canada\u2019s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is concerned after four grey whales have been found dead around Vancouver Island this month.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo of those four dead grey whales were extremely emaciated. Never seen such poor body condition,\u201d said Paul Cottrell, DFO marine mammal co-ordinator for the Pacific region. One of those starved whales was found near Sidney, B.C. where it was infested with whale lice, which are typically found on whales and not usually harmful. \u201cWhen the body condition gets really poor (the lice) actually can eat the animal alive and it was quite disturbing to see the poor shape of this animal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two of the whales were found near Barkley Sound, one was further north near Kyuquot and the fourth was near Sidney. Three of the dead whales were males and one was female, which is a pattern that\u2019s been noted in neighbouring areas like Washington State who Cottrell said has seen 15 deaths in the last few weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe underlying kind of consistent thing we\u2019re seeing is very skinny animals, with certain animals that are just really a bag of bones,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Cottrell said the whales spend winters in Mexico before travelling north of Alaska to feeding grounds in spring and then return to breeding and calving lagoons in the south after summer, where they don\u2019t typically feed. He said researchers believe last year was a very poor season for feeding.<\/p>\n
Marine mammal technician Wendy Szaniszlo said right now the whales are migrating up from their breeding grounds and heading towards the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe changing food abundance in the Arctic and sub-Arctic feeding grounds is contributing to the malnutrition, lowered breeding rates as well as the mortalities we\u2019re seeing,\u201d she explained. \u201cLast breeding season down in the Baja Lagoon, it was found that there were only 84 calves that were born. And that has been the lowest on record to date.\u201d<\/p>\n
That declining birth rate and the malnutrition are concerning. The malnutrition among mothers affects their ability to carry calves to term and to care for them after they\u2019ve been born, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re not getting that birth rate in calves being born, the population can\u2019t increase,\u201d Cottrell added. \u201cIf you\u2019re getting increased mortality the population\u2019s going to decline even more rapidly.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2016 the estimate of grey whale population was 28,000 which dropped to 14,000 by 2023, there was a small rebound in 2024 but the population has been decreasing again in 2025 and now in 2026.<\/p>\n
Szaniszlo said DFO has been using drones to track whales\u2019 body condition over time and they are seeing poor body conditions worsened year over year.<\/p>\n
She said she\u2019d like to see more research into grey whale food sources not only in the northern feeding grounds but also in B.C. where she said 250 grey whales have been known to feed for many years.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they\u2019re feeding along here it means that we have some food in B.C. that\u2019s important to them in our habitat,\u201d she said. \u201cQuite a bit of work has been done particularly in Clayoquot Sound in the past for many years on grey whale foraging ecology but very little is known about grey whale habitat and what they\u2019re feeding on in central to northern B.C.\u201d<\/p>\n
The experts noted in the past grey whale populations have fluctuated and they\u2019re hoping that\u2019s the case this spring.<\/p>\n
The DFO noted First Nations have been supporting the necropsies and, in the case of the whales reported that were floating in the water, locating the deceased animals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hoping it\u2019s just a blip but the indications are that we\u2019re likely going to see more mortalities,\u201d Cottrell said.<\/p>\n
The official causes of death can\u2019t be confirmed until the necropsy reports are completed. At least one of the whales found in Barkley Sound was seen with fishing gear including ropes and floats.<\/p>\n
The department encourages everyone to report occurrences of whales being harassed or disturbed and instances of collisions with whales or whale entanglements by calling DFO\u2019s Observe, Record, Report hotline at 1-800-465-4336 or by email at DFO.ORR-ONS.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.<\/p>\n