‘Help save Willy': Rep. Liccardo introduces bill to implement ‘whale desk' in San Francisco Bay

Bay Area federal lawmakers marked Earth Day by introducing a bill Wednesday aimed at mitigating rampant whale deaths in the San Francisco Bay - an alarming statistic that has reached its highest level in 25 years.

The bill - named the "Save Willy Act," in a nod to the popular 1993 movie "Free Willy" - would implement a "whale desk" at the U.S. Coast Guard's San Francisco station. It would be tasked with tracking whales moving through the Bay and warning vessel operators of their locations to prevent collisions between the cetaceans and boats, according to a news release from U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo's office.

"We all could play a role to help save ‘Willy,' and that includes those of us who are visitors, recreational boaters and commercial mariners - anyone with both eyes and attention to the plight of these beautiful creatures can play a role in helping us reduce whale deaths," Liccardo said in an interview. "People are understandably concerned. We are a community that cares deeply about the environment (and the) protection of beautiful species like these gray whales."

(Yes, Liccardo is aware that "Free Willy" starred an orca. He and his staff debated the name of the bill.)

The bill comes amid a significant uptick in whale deaths in and around the San Francisco Bay in recent years, with 2025 seeing 24 whale deaths, lawmakers said. Of those recorded deaths, 21 were gray whales.

"Gray whales are at their lowest population level since the whaling times," said Moe Flannery, senior collection manager of ornithology and mammalogy for the California Academy of Sciences

A study published earlier this month, co-authored by Flannery, found that about 18% of gray whales who came into San Francisco Bay between 2018 and 2025 died there. About 40% of those who died sustained injuries from vessel strikes, Liccardo added.

"If we can crowdsource information about whale sightings from commercial and recreational mariners, and be able to distribute that information through the Coast Guard, we can avoid many of these collisions and save the lives of many whales, and also improve safety of these ships," Liccardo said.

There have been nine whale deaths in and around the San Francisco Bay in 2026 - seven of which occurred in the bay between March 17 and April 20, according to the Marine Mammal Center. The two other area strandings occurred in Bodega Bay Harbor on April 19 and in Pedro Point in Pacifica on April 9. Of those deaths, one was confirmed to be due to a vessel strike, six had undetermined causes of death or no necropsy - an animal autopsy - carried out and two have necropsies pending. Flannery added that the pending necropsies had initial indications of injuries often caused by vessel strikes.

The number of whale deaths so far in 2026 is twice what it was at this point in 2025, Flannery added. She noted that the first stranding occurred about two weeks earlier in the year than in 2025, meaning that the migration could be earlier or shorter this year, accounting for the higher numbers earlier in the year.

Gray whales went through an unusual mortality event from 2019 until 2023 in which the whales were dying in higher numbers due to climate change and changing ocean conditions causing less prey to be available, leading to malnourishment, said Kathi George, director of Cetacean Conservation Biology at the Marine Mammal Center. That malnourishment can cause death or make whales more susceptible to injuries.

There are only about 13,000 Eastern Pacific Gray Whales left, lawmakers said, marking the lowest population level since the 1970s.

Starting around 2018, gray whales began to use the Bay as a stopping point along their migration between their feeding grounds in the Arctic and their breeding grounds off the coast of Mexico, George said. Scientists have hypothesized that this could be to seek additional food sources or a place to rest amid their long journeys.

"On their way back north, when it was considered unusual for them to be feeding in the past, we may be seeing whales coming into the San Francisco Bay to feed," Flannery said. "The Bay is a very busy urban environment with lots of vessel traffic, and unfortunately, gray whales are difficult to see in the water."

The reports of whale sightings will come from mariners and the public, lawmakers said. The bill would also encourage the Coast Guard to use new technology to track whales and provide alerts on their locations. These technologies could include the use of artificial intelligence or other algorithm-based tools, according to the bill.

The initial program would last for four years and involve two full-time staff members, according to the text of the bill.

George said that the whale desk will be an "effective approach" to helping vessels avoid striking whales in the bay.

"I'm really excited about the attention that this bill is bringing and establishing the station desk," she said. "It's really going to highlight the critical work that's already underway, and it will staff and fund this work for the future."

Flannery said that the desk would be a "much needed, immediate solution to an immediate problem."

If passed, this "whale desk" will begin as a pilot program in the San Francisco Bay and, if successful, can be implemented in other coastal regions, Liccardo said.s

"We hope that if we can demonstrate its success here in the San Francisco Bay, we can save many more whales and other large species throughout the Pacific and Atlantic," he added.

The bill follows a letter written by Liccardo and signed by other Bay Area delegates in July of last year to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expressing concern about the spike in whale deaths and inquiring about the impact of the agency's budget cuts on ocean life, lawmakers said. NOAA's response cited changes to the whales' feeding grounds in the Arctic as the reason for the spike in deaths.

"Right now, gray whales are coming into the bay and it's not safe for them, and it's also not safe for people in boats," Flannery said. "Having someone to coordinate the information, the sightings and help mariners be safe around whales and help whales be safe around all the traffic that's in the bay is vital to supporting this species that really is in trouble right now."

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 5:51 PM.