Del Mar residents get to witness the annual Gray Whale migration from a spectacular San Diego shoreline. Del Mar is an excellent place to see them and Seagrove Park, at the foot of 15th Street, maybe the best place.  The only member of the family Eschrichtiidae, the gray whale is a mysticete, or baleen whale. As a "coastal" whale  the gray whale migrates along the North American Pacific Coast between northern arctic seas and the lagoons of Baja California, Mexico. Frequently visible from shore, gray whales provide a unique opportunity for land and boat observation, and commercial whale watching has become a major industry along its migration route. Visitors to the calving and breeding lagoons sometimes encounter the phenomenon of the "friendlies"; gray whales that closely approach small boats and allow themselves to be touched by humans.  In the fall Del Mar residents can watch the whales as they move south to Baja and then in the spring as they move back north towards the Bering Sea.  

The gray whale is named for the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin.  The gray whale has no dorsal (top) fin but about 2/3 of the way back on its body is a prominent dorsal hump. The flippers of the Gray whale are paddle shaped and pointed at the tips. Its fluke, or tail fin, is about 10-12 feet across, pointed at the tips, and deeply notched in the center. An adult male can grow to 46 feet and adult females measure slightly more. Both sexes weigh 30-40 tons.

The gray whale has historically been one of the most hunted whales. At one time there were three gray whale populations; a north Atlantic population,  a Korean or western north Pacific, and the eastern north Pacific population.  The Eastern north pacific population is the largest surviving group of gray whales. The gray whale was almost hunted to extinction in the 1850's after the discovery of the calving lagoons, and again in the early 1900's with the introduction of floating factories.  In 1947 the gray whale was given full hunting protection by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Since then, the eastern north Pacific gray whale population has made a remarkable recovery and now the population is estimated to be between 19,000 and 23,000, probably close to their original population size.