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Pacific gray whales spotted in Puget Sound

Pacific gray whales known as the Sounders are making their annual appearance in Puget Sound.

SEATTLE — A group of Pacific gray whales known as the Sounders because they stop over in Puget Sound during their coastal migration is beginning to arrive in the region. 

As of Wednesday, at least four had been spotted. 

Scientists with the nonprofit Cascadia Research Collective say they tend to congregate off Whidbey Island and feed on ghost shrimp. 

The first sighting was noted Feb. 3, according to the nonprofit Orca Network. By Feb. 25, multiple observers reported seeing two whales at once.

The Sounders represent about a dozen individual whales that are part of the larger population of Eastern North Pacific gray whales, according to Cascadia Research Collective. They usually feed in North Puget Sound waters for two to three months each spring and then continue north to the Bering and Chukchi seas for summer feeding.

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In January, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Fisheries reported the population of gray whales off the West Coast has fallen by nearly a quarter since 2016. Surveys counted about 6,000 fewer migrating whales last winter, 21,000 as compared with 27,000 in 2016.

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