A dead whale bobs in the bay on Monday, March 30, 2026.
Josie Slaathaug © California Academy of Sciences, NOAA Permit #26532
Four gray whales have now washed up dead in the San Francisco Bay over the past two weeks. As many as six others are still visiting local waters, with one even dramatically colliding with a windsurfer.
After gray whales appeared earlier than usual in January, a vessel likely killed an adult female in mid-March, marking the first fatality of 2026. Local biologists reported three additional whales in recent days in several different spots, but have not yet accessed their bodies to determine how they died.
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The Eastern North Pacific population of gray whales, which migrates along the West Coast, faces dramatic declines overall and died in record numbers in the Bay Area last year.
“As we’re seeing gray whales entering the bay, it’s hard to predict whether this year will be a repeat, both in terms of sightings and strandings,” Giancarlo Rulli, a spokesperson for the Marine Mammal Center, told SFGATE. “It’s just too early in the season to tell.”
A dead male remains wedged under pilings at the Phillips 66 Refinery on March 25, 2026.
Darrin Allen © The Marine Mammal Center, NOAA Permit #26532
This year, marine scientists and federal first responders recovered the first dead gray whale floating underneath the Golden Gate Bridge on March 17. Their diagnosis, based on clear injuries, was that a vessel killed her, according to the Marine Mammal Center.
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On March 25, experts found a male gray whale decomposing under pilings at the Phillips 66 Refinery in Rodeo; it’s still lodged there.
On Saturday evening, the California Academy of Sciences received a report of an adult female whale floating dead near the Larkspur Ferry Terminal; the strong tide later pulled her out toward Golden Gate Strait, making her difficult to find.
On Sunday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard discovered yet another dead gray whale bobbing off Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor; federal first responders are taking it to Angel Island for a necropsy.
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The whales are stopping off in the Bay Area as they travel from Baja California, Mexico, to feed in the Arctic. The sea creatures are struggling to find enough food in the Arctic, where climate change is disrupting the ecosystem. Between 2019 and 2023, an unusual mortality event wiped out a significant amount of the population.
In 2025, the population of grays that completes the 10,000-mile migration along the West Coast fell to just shy of 13,000 whales, the lowest number recorded since the 1970s. Out of the 26 whales that died in local waters last year, 21 were gray whales — the highest number of regional fatalities in 25 years.
The Marine Mammal Center, California Academy of Sciences and their partners are hard at work studying why more gray whales are turning up in San Francisco Bay.
“There were multiple cases this year already of gray whales actively foraging in San Francisco Bay,” Rulli said. “Are we looking at the area as a pit stop? We’re not sure at this point, but documenting this foraging behavior is really important because it goes to show that whales are finding an accessible food source in the bay.”
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Regarding the recent incident caught on video of a windsurfer smacking into a gray whale, Rulli said it was a reminder of how low gray whales like to cruise in the water; they typically only briefly surface.
“One of the big things that we would heed to the public is just that if you see a blow go slow,” Rulli explained. “Gray whales can be difficult to see on the water, especially if you’re moving quickly.”