When humpback whales began to appear in large numbers off the California coast in 2015 and 2016, people celebrated the comeback of the whales after a near-miss with extinction. However, the excitement was quickly met with new worries – the whales increasingly got caught up in fishermen’s crab ropes. Crab lines are far from the only challenges humpback whales face in coastal waters. And that’s really scary.”But for now, the whale populations off the west coast are thriving. “The grey whales are the highest they’ve ever been, and humpback whales have remarkably rebounded.” Seals and sea lions are also close to their maximum numbers, and all those bodies need to eat.

Source: The Guardian February 01, 2020 11:00 UTC