Yet again this winter, Dungeness season was delayed to keep whales safe. In a surprising turn after years of adamant resistance, more Dungeness crabbers are trying out—and pretty darn happy with—new pots designed to keep humpbacks from getting entangled.
Tag: whales
Summer Issue 2023
Naturalist’s Notebook: How Pelicans and Humpbacks Stretch For Their Food
Pelicans don’t, as you may have heard, stick their spines out of their mouths. They do, however, do some pretty crazy yawn-stretching. From John Muir Laws.
Spring Issue 2023
As Whale Populations Grow, Dungeness Crabbers Foresee Their Own Demise
For decades, whale migration and crabbing operated as a tag team. But now, the whales are coming sooner—widening the window for exposure to fishing gear.
Field Reports
To Count Seabirds From Above, Fly Slowly And Pack a Big Lens
Aerial wildlife surveys, conducted by the USGS to inform the coming offshore wind energy boom, are strikingly beautiful, for government data. They were also hard-won.
Stewardship
In Bay of Life, an Internationally Renowned Media Duo Look to Their Monterey Backyard
With Bay of Life, Frans Lanting and Christine Eckstrom wanted to go past Monterey Bay’s natural beauty to explore its past, present and possible futures.
The Ocean
Can We Have More Whales and Fewer Whale Strikes?
Anchovies sparkled and seawater sprayed from the crusty maws of gray whales as they burst through the surface, again and again, off the coast near Pacifica, fifteen miles south of San Francisco. Groups of up to six gray whales devoured … Read more
Summer Issue 2022
Naturalist’s Notebook: Whale, Dolphin and Porpoise ID Guide
How to identify individual cetaceans in the San Francisco Bay.
The Ocean
Four Gray Whales Found Dead in the Bay Area as Mysterious Die-off Continues
April is the peak month for gray whales passing by the San Francisco Bay Area, drawing spectators to the coast to scan the ocean’s surface for a heart-shaped spout or the flick of a gray-speckled tail. But while the abundance … Read more
Winter Issue 2021
A Seasonal Whale Finder for California
When to find and how to identify the three whales that regularly visit the California coast.
Fall Issue 2020
Postcard from Bodega Bay: “I Don’t Want to See These Whales Go Away”
In Bodega Bay, crabbers struggle to protect whales frequenting their waters–while still making a living.
