Decomposing beaked whale washes ashore in Long Beach as Pacific Northwest strandings mount

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A 34-foot whale washed ashore on the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington, with a Cascadia Research Collective biologist identifying it as a Baird's beaked whale. This is part of a broader wave of whale strandings in the Pacific Northwest region, with at least 12 dead gray whales documented along the coasts of Washington and Oregon in recent weeks.

Why it matters

Whale strandings are concerning events that can provide insights into the health of marine ecosystems. The recent spike in whale deaths along the Pacific Northwest coast raises questions about potential environmental factors or human impacts that may be contributing to these incidents.

The details

The beached whale was found south of the Cranberry Approach beach access point in Long Beach. John Calambokidis, a research biologist with the Olympia-based Cascadia Research Collective, confirmed the whale was a Baird's beaked whale. Calambokidis also said his team had just returned from examining one of three new dead gray whale reports received in the past three days, with the other two in the Deception Pass and Sequim Bay areas.

• The Long Beach whale was found on Sunday, April 20, 2026.
• In the past three days, Cascadia Research Collective has received three new reports of dead gray whales in the Deception Pass, Sequim Bay, and Ocean Shores areas.
• Earlier this month, three gray whales died in Washington state, including two that washed ashore at Ocean Shores and a third found dead following a search by wildlife officials.
• On April 14, 2026, the Seaside Aquarium reported a 40-foot male gray whale found dead on the south end of Seaside Beach in Oregon.

What’s next

Cascadia Research Collective and other marine biologists will likely continue to investigate the causes behind the recent spike in whale strandings along the Pacific Northwest coast.