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Wayward Humpback Whales

Sacramento River, CA    2007-May-15

On 14 May 2007, two humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were observed within the Sacramento River upstream of Rio Vista, CA. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Services, The Marine Mammal Center, the U.S. Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Game, and the Governor's Office of Emergency Services responded and coordinated rescue operations. By 27MAY2007, the whales had moved downstream of the Rio Vista Bridge, lingered near the Benicia Bridge on 28MAY and continued on to the Pacific on 29MAY.


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Note: Documents are posted chronologically and early reports likely contain factual errors. These errors may be corrected in a later report.


Public Advisories and Press Releases

Press Release -- Tuesday, June 5, 2007 2007-Jun-06
Press Release -- Wednesday, May 30, 2007 2007-Jun-05
Press Release -- Saturday, May 26, 2007 2007-May-26
Scientists Encouraged by Response of Wayward Whales to Water Streams - JIC Press Release 5/27/07 2007-May-25
Web Sites for Press Releases 2007-May-24
Press Release -- Tuesday, May 22, 2007 2007-May-22
New E-Mail Address for Public Comments and Recommendations 2007-May-22
Joint Information Center Humpback Whale Rescue Media Advisory - 5/19/07 2007-May-19

Incident Response Documents

Update on Whale Rescue -- Monday, May 28, 2007 2007-May-28
Sit Rep - 5/21/07 7:15 pm 2007-May-21
Humpback whales on the move 2007-May-20
Timeline and General Background Information 2007-May-18
Whale Recordings being used for playbacks - Social 2 - .mp3 format 2007-May-18
Whale Recordings being used for playbacks - Social 1 - .mp3 format 2007-May-18
Whale Recordings being used for playbacks - Travel - .mp3 format 2007-May-18
Whale Recordings being used for playbacks - Travel - .wav format 2007-May-18
Sound recordings of the whales - .mp3 format 2007-May-18
Sound Recordings of the Whales - .wav format 2007-May-18

Incident Details

Spill, potential spill, or other: Other
Products of concern: Not applicable

Latitude (approximate): 38° 33.75' North
Longitude (approximate): 121° 33.12' West

Counter measures:
On-Water Recovery: Not applicable
Shoreline Cleanup: Not applicable
Dispersants: Not applicable
In-Situ Burn: Not applicable
Bioremediation: Not applicable