Each year, NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region collects, verifies, documents, and responds to reports of large whale entanglements along the U.S. West Coast.
In 2024, confirmed entanglement reports in NOAA’s West Coast Region were the highest since 2018. NOAA confirmed 36 entangled whales off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, or off the coast of other countries but entangled in U.S. West Coast commercial fishing gear. Similar to recent years, humpback whales continued to be the most common species entangled, with 31 separate entanglements confirmed in 2024. Four gray whales and one fin whale also were confirmed entangled.
