In conversations I’ve had with people in the past week, it’s been hard to find someone who wasn’t following the news around the young humpback whale that washed ashore near Yachats.
It’s evident that people really cared about its wellbeing making it all the sadder that it didn’t survive. Events like this are hard: beached whales don’t always make it, but the fact that more isn’t being done to proactively protect whales is alarming.
The young humpback, around 25 feet long and likely about a year old, was found on the beach wrapped up in fishing gear and it’s one of several humpbacks found on the Oregon coast recently. Last year, there were 36 whale entanglements on the Pacific Coast in the Lower 48 and generally over the past decade or so whale entanglements have been on the rise and are likely to increase if more isn’t done.
The good news is that there are solutions to cutting down the risk of entanglement. Ropeless gear, for example, is gaining popularity and fisheries in the Pacific should do more to enact policies that require or incentivize it and for the sake of the whales, they should be enacted soon.
Ian Giancarlo
Oceans Advocate
Environment Oregon
Pioneer coverage of Yachats humpback:
https://www.tillamookcountypioneer.net/oregon-dept-of-fish-wildlife-odfw-investigating-entanglement-of-young-humpback-whale/
https://www.tillamookcountypioneer.net/beached-juvenile-humpback-whale-in-yachats/
https://www.tillamookcountypioneer.net/noaa-preliminary-necropsy-results-for-yachats-whale-released-nov-19-2025/