Gray Whale Research in Mexico and the Programa de Investigación de Mamíferos Marinos of the UABCS (GWRM-PRIMMA-UABCS) conducted two field monitoring excursions in the Bahía Magdalena-Bahía Almejas lagoon complex. The first on May 11^th and the second from June 16^th to the 17^th of 2025. In May 21 gray whales were observed and an additional 45 more whales in June, that included 60 different individuals. Of those, 20 of these whales were previously observed in the lagoon complex between the months of January and March, and one individual was spotted in Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur during the month of February. It is not unusual that the winter reproductive season some individuals remain for a longer time in Mexican waters, however, this is the first time that this many individual whales have been observed congregating in the Magdalena-Bahía complex during the months of May and June.

Regarding the whales’ body condition, 2 whales were in good or normal body condition, 6 were in fair condition, 39 were in poor condition, however we were not able to evaluate 13 of the whales.

The sea temperature during the field expeditions varied from 16-21°C, depending on the area. In June gray whales were observed feeding in areas with depths between 10.1 and 30.9 m. They were also observed defecating. Within the fecal samples the research team was able to identify pelagic red langoustine (Pleuroncodes planipes).

Another visit to monitor the gray whales the Magdalena-Bahía Almejas lagoon complex is scheduled during July to verify if there are gray whales present or if they started migrating north as the water temperature increases.