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SC/69A/CMP/17
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Resource ID
19970
Access
Open
Document Number
SC/69A/CMP/17
Full Title
Gray whale stranding records in Mexico, during UME 2019-2022: 2023 Update
Author
S. Martínez-Aguilar, A. González-Cisneros, M. Valerio-Conchas, F.M. Rodríguez-González, R. Lobo-Barrera, L.A. Zamora-Zavala, J.A. Olguín-Hernández, F. Castillo-Romero, G.A. Zaragoza-Aguilar, J. Rivera-Rodríguez, N. López-Paz
Authors Summary
Unusual Mortality Events (UME) occur when mortalities of marine mammals increase above an average annual rate. In 2019 the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared a gray whale UME along the North Pacific Coast of North America and continued until 2022. Gray whale stranding records were collected in Mexico between January 1st and April 11 of 2023 and documented at least 33 gray whales stranded along the Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico. As in previous years, most strandings (n=27) occurred in the Ojo de Liebre lagoon (LOL) and the surrounding areas. Of the total number, 19 were female gray whales, and 14 were males. The age classes of the dead whales were: 8 adults, four subadults, five yearling whales and 16 calves. The number of strandings in 2023 was similar to the stranding numbers before the UME started in 2019. The primary age class of stranded whales was calves, as is usually the case in the non-UME years.
Publication Year
2023
Abstract
Unusual Mortality Events (UME) occur when mortalities of marine mammals increase above an average annual rate. In 2019 the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared a gray whale UME along the North Pacific Coast of North America and continued until 2022. Gray whale stranding records were collected in Mexico between January 1st and April 11 of 2023 and documented at least 33 gray whales stranded along the Pacific coast of Baja California, Mexico. As in previous years, most strandings (n=27) occurred in the Ojo de Liebre lagoon (LOL) and the surrounding areas. Of the total number, 19 were female gray whales, and 14 were males. The age classes of the dead whales were: 8 adults, four subadults, five yearling whales and 16 calves. The number of strandings in 2023 was similar to the stranding numbers before the UME started in 2019. The primary age class of stranded whales was calves, as is usually the case in the non-UME years.