Where do whales migrate offshore?
A. Most of the major whale species migrate between their feeding grounds, which lie as far north as the Bering Sea, and their breeding areas offshore Mexico and Central America. On their migrations, whales pass along the California coast at varying distances from shore. Gray whales migrate closest to shore and generally pass through the Santa Barbara Channel during their migration. While oil and natural gas activities have been raised as a concern both in terms of potential noise and oil impacts, studies to date indicate that oil activities do not appear to adversely affect the whale populations or their migration. The activities of whales continue to be monitored so that impacts can be detected and avoided.
