Record Numbers of Humpbacks and Blue Whales Near Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

Record numbers of humpack and blue whales are feeding off the coast of San Francisco, a study near the Farallon Islands has confirmed

“We don’t know if it’s food-driven or water-temperature- or climate-change-driven,” Jan Roletto, research coordinator for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, said.

Last year was also a big year for humpbacks. “They’ve been showing up earlier and earlier” every year, she said.

Researchers suspect the giant cetaceans are following prey — including the tiny shrimp-like creatures known as krill, anchovies and schools of small fish. Several humpbacks were seen over the past few weeks feeding in San Francisco Bay near Fort Point, a highly unusual activity for the whales, which generally prefer to be well offshore.

Click here to read a San Francisco Gate article on the whale increases.