SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Due to an influx of whales migrating through the bay, boaters have been asked to keep their distance from the sea mammals for the next couple months.
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials, boaters are advised to always be cautious of whales, more are expected during the spring and summer months when they travel north from breeding grounds in Mexico to the Arctic waters near Alaska, NOAA officials said.
Many whales may turn up at busy shipping lanes in San Francisco at the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary west of the Golden Gate Bridge, NOAA officials said.
Gray whales pose the biggest threat and are more likely to collide with boats because they tend to travel close to the shore, according to NOAA officials.
Female whales, also known as cows, and their calves tend to swim in pairs and can be visible from land, according to NOAA officials.
Gray whales also occasionally stop in the surf zone to nurse, rest or steer clear of killer whales, NOAA officials said.
Gray whales are visible to boaters through puffs of smoke about 10 to 15 feet high coming out of the animal’s blow hole.
Boaters are encourages to stay at least 100 yards away from the whales.
NOAA officials are also asking boaters to never cut a whale’s path, make an abrupt change in the speed or direction of their craft, or split up a mother whale from her calf.