Sea of Change: The Whale Superhighway 

Whales of all kinds travel the so-called whale superhighway off the Southern California coast. Experts say the changing seas are bringing a wide range and growing number of behemoths to the Pacific, sometimes just feet from shore.”I’ve seen a lot of change here along our southern California coast, a resurgence of the marine life out here,” Harbor Breeze Cruises CEO Cpt. Dan Salas CEO said. “It’s coming back. I’ve seen more whales than I’ve ever seen in the last four to five years right off Southern California coast.”Watch “Sea of Change: The Whale Superhighway” at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 1 on ABC7 and wherever you stream. More whales seen in Southern California “There’s been a big change in the kinds of species that we see when the water gets warmer,” ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project Director Biologist Alisa Schulman-Janiger said. “We might get false killer whales come up from Mexico or Brutus whales or eastern tropical pacific-type killer whales.”Many of these massive mammals are drawn to the Southern California waters for food. Upwellings of cold deep currents, full of shrimp and krill create an underwater buffet for whales of all kinds.Whales of all kinds travel the so-called whale superhighway off the Southern California coast.The opportunity to see any of these graceful giants has been the basis of the whale-watching business off the Southern California coast for decades. And now more than ever, the odds of seeing a whale or two have increased significantly.”I’ve never seen a blue whale in the wild out here my whole life until, you know, the first part of the 2000’s like 2004,” Salas said. “I saw my first blue whale and just about every year since 2004, we’ve been seeing blue whales every single year.”Whale populations decline Just 10,000 to 25,000 blue whales now roam the world’s oceans, down from more than 350,000 due to devastating commercial whaling. NOAA estimates that more than 1,500 blue whales now feed along the SoCal coast. It’s one of the largest known global gatherings of these blue behemoths.”If there’s a lot of food around, the blues will kind of call each other underwater,” Newport Coastal Adventure Owner Ryan Lawler said. “You’ll have sometimes aggregation of five or six or seven. I think the most blue whales we’ve seen is maybe a dozen in one area.””Only 1% of the world’s population ever get a chance to get a glimpse of a blue whale,” Salas said. “And when you see them and you can hear their blow, it’s not like you hear a blow. It’s almost, it’s so powerful you can feel it vibrating through your body. It’s a rumble.”How climate change impacts whales Gray whales have long been a staple along the SoCal coast as they make their annual 12,000-mile migration from the Arctic to Baja, Mexico and back. It’s the longest migration of any mammal.Gray whales migrate from the Artic to Baja, Mexico, each year. A 12,000-mile journey to mate and give birth.Since 1984, researchers and volunteers with the American Cetacean Socie