3 gray whales found dead, bringing total to 30 in WA this year

Three dead gray whales were found on Grays Harbor County shores this week, bringing the total number of gray whale deaths to 30 in Washington state in 2026.

A female whale was found off Ocean Shores, one was on a Quinault Reservation beach and one was in Moclips, according to Cascadia Research Collective, a marine wildlife nonprofit that's tracked the whale deaths. The Ocean Shores whale's cause of death is pending. The Quinault and Moclips whales were decomposed, so no necropsy will be performed.

The year's 30 deaths are the second highest in 50 years in Washington, after 35 deaths were recorded in all of 2019, according to Cascadia data. The average annual total is five, though that has risen since 2019.

Gray whale strandings typically occur when the animals are migrating along the West Coast to the Bering Sea from April through June, usually peaking in May. This year, however, half the deaths occurred in April.

The most common cause among the whale deaths has been malnutrition, according to the research collective. Other causes include blunt-force trauma from being hit by a vessel or entangled in equipment.

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This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 11:36 PM.