Support the Save Willy Act to Protect Gray Whales in San Francisco Bay

Today I take pen in hand to write in support of the Save Willy, new legislation to protect whales in San Francisco Bay, and possibly serve as a model for other regions. This bill would create a Whale Desk at the Coast Guard's San Francisco station where mariners and the public can report sightings and alert vessel operators to avoid fatal collisions. The numbers demand action. In 2024 alone, 24 whale deaths were documented in the San Francisco Bay Area—a record for the past 25 years. Of those, 21 were gray whales. Research published in Frontiers in Marine Science found that 18 percent of all gray whales who enter the Bay die there. We've already lost eight whales in 2025. The Save Willy Act offers practical solutions: a centralized alert system using crowd-sourced data from commercial and recreational boats, and Coast Guard assessment of new whale tracking technologies. These measures will scale the impact of researchers who track whales daily and help mariners avoid collisions that are dangerous and costly for everyone involved. Climate change is driving ecosystem changes in Arctic feeding grounds, pushing gray whales into the Bay searching for food. The hope is that this bill will inspire legislation to protect whales beyond Pacific shores. The Marine Mammal Center, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and California Academy of Sciences have all endorsed this legislation. Please add your support. Thank you.