Lawsuit Launched to Protect Whales in California From Ship Strikes

The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth sent a notice today of their intent to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Coast Guard for failing to consult on how California shipping lane designations contribute to whale and sea turtle vessel strikes.

At least eight gray whales have been killed by probable ship strikes in the Bay Area so far in 2025.

“It’s been a terrible year for whales off the West Coast, and we can’t afford to let federal officials waste any more time delaying action on ship strikes,” said David Derrick, a staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “A decent plan for routing and slowing ships down is long overdue, and this federal foot-dragging has been deadly for whales. The law is clear that the agencies must go back to the drawing board and come back with something that will actually protect whales and sea turtles.”

Ship strikes are a leading cause of death for gray, blue, fin and humpback whales off California’s coast. Scientists also say the actual number of ship strikes could be 20 times higher than what’s observed, since most dead whales sink. One study estimated that about 80 whales are killed by ship strikes off the West Coast each year.

“This is not the first time we have gone toe-to-toe with the federal government for failing to assess the grave risks that shipping poses for marine life,” said Hallie Templeton, legal director for Friends of the Earth. “Now, even with a federal court opinion on our side, agencies have not changed their tune. And neither have we: we will keep fighting inside and outside the courtroom to protect whales and sea turtles from the serious and fatal risks from ship strikes.”

In December 2022 a federal court ruled in favor of the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth in their lawsuit challenging the failure of the Fisheries Service and the Coast Guard. The suit asserted that the agencies did not protect endangered whales from being struck by ships using ports in the Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Francisco Bay regions.

The existing designated shipping lanes route shipping traffic through several “hot spots” where whales congregate, including the Santa Barbara Channel and the northern approach to the San Francisco Bay. But the Fisheries Service concluded in a 2017 biological opinion that the designations would cause no “take” of any whales or sea turtles. The 2022 court ruling rejected those conclusions, finding that its determination “defies logic,” and that it is “undisputed” that whales are struck and killed by ship strikes within the lanes.

The ruling invalidated the agencies’ consultation, called a biological opinion, which had evaluated the routes’ harm to protected species. Since that ruling, the agencies have not taken steps to complete a new biological opinion, nor have they considered measures proven to reduce ship strikes.

A dead juvenile blue whale washed ashore on a Point Reyes National Seashore beach after being struck by a ship in June 2018. (Photo: Sarah Codde/ NPS)