POINT ARENA, 3/26/21 - When the weather is favorable, Teresa (Tree) and Scott Mercer drive out to the end of the windy Point Arena bluff, right near the lighthouse, where they position themselves above the rocky shore line in two camping chairs pointing south, out to sea. Snacks at the ready and binoculars in hand, they settle in for a four to seven hour stint of whale watching.
The Mercers, who are both retired, are whale watching experts. They actually met on a whale watching boat. These days they spend over a thousand hours a year peering out into the wild, turquoise-blue Pacific ocean, braving the wind and the rain and watching whales travel north and south off of the rocky Mendocino Coast, recording whale numbers, movement, and anything out of the ordinary.
Along with other whale watchers who do similar work up and down the Pacific’s eastern shores, the Mercers create a census of the global gray whale population and of other marine species. In general, the gray whale population is stable, but the species has been experiencing an unusual mortality event over the past three years, meaning that more grays have been stranded, washing up on shores, than normal.
Unusual mortality events like this can point to deeper problems in the ocean. All of the information the Mercers collect helps other scientists piece together a story about the health of the ocean and the entire planet, which is always important, but especially so the era of climate change.