SAN JOSE, Calif. — As we speak there’s a spouting, breaching, vocalizing superhighway of whales off the California coast. Epicureans might be disappointed it’s led to a delay in the crab season, as the roving creatures can get tangled up in trap lines. But on the bright side, it’s created fantastic opportunities for whale watching, with encounters visible from the shore if you know where to look.
“It’s crazy – there’s plenty of activity. I was just in Tiburon and a humpback whale came right into Raccoon Strait (inside the Bay), a couple hundred feet away,” says Bill Keener, a cetacean research biologist at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito.
Abnormally cold waters have led to an abundance of krill and anchovies (so much so that fish have rained from the sky). Following the food and their massive appetites are humpback whales, pushing off the coast and sometimes through the Golden Gate. In fact, the Golden Gate Bridge right now is a decent place for whale-watching; if it doesn’t pan out, you’re at least likely to see some pinnipeds.
