In 1972, a humpback whale nicknamed Festus was first spotted off the coast of southeastern Alaska. It is noted that it returned there every summer for 44 years, feeding in the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the North Pacific before returning to Hawaii to mate in the winter. In June 2016, the whale was found dead near Glacier Bay National Park. The cause of its death was cited as starvation due to the strongest sea heat wave in recorded history.
A new study presented at the Royal Society Open Science says the region’s humpback whale population declined by 20 per cent between 2013 and 2021 as warmer waters fundamentally changed the ecosystem. According to experts from Australia’s Sutherne Cross University, the heat wave from 2014-2016 significantly reduced ocean productivity, critically undermining the humpback whale population.
Data from the scientists show that the whale population peaked at 33,500 whales in the North Pacific in 2012, with an average increase of 6 per cent between 2002 and 2013. The maximum sea temperature recorded from 2014 to 2016 was 3-6 °C above average, nutrients in the region decreased, which cascaded throughout the ecosystem and affected all its inhabitants.
