Watch our 30-second video below!

A 70- to 80-foot-long blue whale was sighted 30 miles off the coast of San Diego, CA, on Saturday, June 25, 2016, and then again on Monday, June 27, 2016 off the coast of Dana Point, CA.

Rescue efforts are underway by NOAA Fisheries and the Orange County Sheriff's Department Harbor Patrol.

Not Usually Blue Whales

This is very unusual behavior for a blue whale, as they are normally deep water animals—and lobster and crab traps are usually set up and down the West Coast in water less than 120 feet.

These whale entanglements are happening with ever more frequency.  In a normal year we would see 10-12 such sad incidents, but over the last two years that number has shot up dramatically to 45 to 61 entanglements. And these are just the ones we know about!

We Are Taking Action

As a part of the ODA family we know you are highly concerned about this, so we want you to know we have started documenting areas where traps are set in unusually high concentrations.  We are pushing to change fishing regulations so that such traps would be required, by law, to be set farther apart.

Combined with our trap and line removal efforts on the “back end” of this issue, our actions to change the trapping laws will change requirements and address this issue at its source.

Watch this 30-second video and see how you and your ODA crew are protecting ocean life!

Please support our efforts to save whales today!