A deceased Gray Whale has washed ashore off West Beach Rd at North Sunset Beach.
A deceased Gray Whale washed ashore off West Beach Rd at North Sunset Beach.
Yet another dead gray whale has washed ashore on the Washington coast, marking the 19th case this year.

What we know:

The latest discovery was on the northern end of Whidbey Island, specifically Sunset Beach near Oak Harbor.

The Island County Sheriff's Office posted about the dead whale Wednesday afternoon.

The NOAA Marine Mammal Stranding Network has been notified and will be responding to the latest whale death, according to the Island County Sheriff's Office.


Dig deeper:

Scientists are continuing to track an unusually high mortality event after a record-breaking 16 gray whales were found dead along Washington shores in April, surpassing the previous April record of 11 set in 2019.

Typically, most of the gray whale beachings occur during the months of April, May and June.

"At the end of April we were at 17, so it's slightly encouraging that we've only added two and we're almost halfway through May," said John Calambokidis, a senior research biologist with the Cascadia Research Collective. "So that is at least a slower pace than what we were getting in April."

Scientists believe many of the whales are arriving in poor condition, with starvation appearing to play a major role in the strandings.

Gray whale deaths timeline

Here's a timeline of gray whale deaths in Washington state in 2026:

March 2 - Offshore Copalis, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: Floating, no necropsy

March 21 - Olympic National Park near Toleak, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: External exam only, emaciated

March 28 - Taholah, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: Decomposed, no necropsy

April 1 - Raymond, Washington
Sex: Uncomfirmed
Comments: Malnutrition, out of habitat upriver

April 3 - Ocean Shores, Washington
Sex: Female
Comments: Malnutrition

April 6 - Anacortes, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: No Necropsy

April 11 - Moclips, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: Malnutrition, blunt force trauma

April 12 - Offshore Long Beach, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: Malnutrition, landed in Seaside, Oregon

April 17 - Sequim, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: Malnutrition, trauma

April 17 - Ocean Shores, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: Malnutrition

April 18 - Deception Pass, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: No necropsy, minimal samples collected

April 20 - Ocean Shores, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: Malnutrition

April 22 - Seaview, Washington
Sex: Female
Comments: Malnutrition, blunt force trauma, recent entanglement (no gear present)

April 26 - Ocean Shores, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: Decomposed, no necropsy

April 27 - Offshore Westport, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: Malnourished but less than others examined, no other findings. Landed in Grayland WA

April 28 - Grays Harbor, Washington
Sex: Male
Comments: Decomposed, no necropsy

May 8 - Long Beach Peninsula, Washington
Sex: Female
Comments: Malnutrition, probable trauma

May 13 - Offshore Whidbey Island, Washington
Sex: Unknown
Comments: Floating

A full working list of gray whale strandings in Washington in 2026 can be found on the Cascadia Research Collective website.