Alarming ḰENES (Grey Whale) Mortality in and around Á,LEṈENEȻ ȽTE (Our Homeland)

May 11, 2026

You may have seen the news articles- our ḰENES are dying at an alarming rate as they return to our waters from the South. So far in 2026, 7 Gray whales have been found deceased on Vancouver Island.

In April, QENTOL,YEN worked with DFO Marine Mammal Response Program to locate one deceased whale near SȾÁUTW̱. After locating the whale, in the days following, we attended the necropsy, working with DFO’s scientists to investigate the cause of death. This exact time last year, we assisted in the necropsy of a grey whale that was found floating near W̱SÍ,ḴEM. In 2025, we thought it would be a once in a lifetime event to assist in a necropsy. Unfortunately, we were wrong as we stood in the same place the following year with another dead whale. The results of 2026’s necropsy were devastating, this whale had a very low amount of blubber, indicating starvation. DFO marine mammal coordinator, Paul Cottrell, describes these whales as “basically a bag of bones”.

In Washington there have been at least 17 Grey Whale deaths this year and in the Pacific as a whole, at least 36 deceased Grey Whales have been found so far in 2026. This doesn’t include those that aren’t found.

These deeply saddening deaths leave us with many questions, but primarily: Why?
Scientists believe that as a result of climate change, melting sea ice in the Arctic, where Grey Whales feed in the summer, is causing a decline in crustaceans that the whales feed on. When they don’t get enough to eat in the summer in the Arctic, they don’t build up enough blubber and fat stores to sustain them for their migration to the tropics and back, their breeding grounds. When they don’t have enough blubber to make it back to the arctic in the summer, they die on their way North, along the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, and BC.

In addition to this immense cause for concern over lack of food, grey whales also face immense threats of vessel strike. In early May of 2026 a jet ski struck a feeding Gray Whale at high speed in Vancouver. In the United States, Gray whales have been struck by paragliders. While these collisions are not intentional, they are not acceptable, and more must be done to protect our marine relatives who are foraging in the near shore area. These whales are starving and being physically abused and we must speak up for our relatives of the deep. We continue to urge DFO to increase their enforcement presence on the water, increase distance regulations, legislate the regulations in a way that can be ticketed instead of a summons to court, and allow indigenous guardians the authority to enforce these regulations.

Photos below may be disturbing please view with care.

Grey Whale located by QENTOL,YEN being towed by DFO (with QENTOL,YEN assistance). Photo from CBC