Abstract
All sizes and types of vessels can hit whales. The U.S. West Coast has some of the heaviest ship traffic associated with some of the largest ports in the country, including the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, San Francisco, Seattle, and the Columbia River.
Of all the large whale species that inhabit our coastline, Blue, Fin, Humpback, and Gray whales are the most vulnerable to vessel strikes because they migrate along the coast and many use areas along the coast for feeding, where they overlap with heavy shipping traffic. Gray, Fin, Humpback, and Minke whales are observed in the inland waters of Washington, including the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Salish Sea, and may also be vulnerable to ship strikes there.
Gray whales from the Pacific Coast Feeding Aggregation do not complete the typical gray whale migration that begins in late fall and ends near the beginning of June. They are also vulnerable to ship strikes when feeding near Whidbey and Camano Islands.