EventArctic warming has collapsed amphipod populations that gray whales depend on, driving the eastern North Pacific gray whale population from >27,000 in 2016 to <13,000 in 2025 and causing over 900 deaths since 2019. The decline also threatens subsistence hunting by Russian indigenous people in Chukotka, where annual landings average 125 whales under a 840‑whale six‑year quota.
Arctic warming has collapsed amphipod populations that gray whales rely on, causing widespread malnutrition and a steep drop in the eastern North Pacific gray whale population, prompting scrutiny of subsistence hunting quotas.
Arctic warming has collapsed amphipod food webs in the Chirikov Basin, leading to thinner, fewer gray whales and record‑low calf counts, threatening both global recovery and subsistence hunting in Chukotka.
