Gray Whales on the Rebound: Signs of Hope Despite Challenges

North Pacific gray whale population increases after declines.

Home Page Navigation


Vessel deck with gloved hands holding a 25mm opilio crab upside down while using a syringe to collect samples from the shoulder joint. Small sample baskets are in the background on a gray table. Erin Fedawa collects snow crab hemolymph samples during the 2023 Eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey to monitor for bitter crab disease. Credit: NOAA Fisheries
Flower Garden Banks Reef Scene A Spanish hogfish (left) and yellowtail damselfish (right) peek out from a reef in the Gulf of Mexico. Credit: Emma Hickerson/NOAA
A view from a satellite over Earth’s ocean and an aerial view of a blue whale A view from a satellite over Earth’s ocean and an aerial view of a blue whale.
Researchers in hard hats and vests use a pulley system to lower a glider into the water off the back of a research ship. Other researchers sit in a black raft floating in the water behind the boat. Deploying a glider off the side of a ship. Credit: NOAA Fisheries