Conservation Groups Notify Intent to Sue NOAA Fisheries Over Missed Gray Whale Endangered Species Act Deadline

The Center for Biological Diversity, Oasis Earth, and the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute filed a formal notice of intent to sue the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service on August 25, 2026, after the agency missed its statutory August 24 deadline to decide whether Eastern North Pacific gray whales warrant Endangered Species Act listing, in response to a 2025 citizen petition. The groups, represented by Greenfire Law, cited at least 187 gray whales stranded and found dead along the West Coast in 2026 and a population decline of up to 50% over the past decade, driven largely by Arctic warming that has depleted the amphipod prey the whales depend on. NOAA has 60 days to act before the groups can file suit. 'Gray whales are washing up dead all along the West Coast, and if federal officials keep dragging their feet, it could be too late,' said the Center's Miyoko Sakashita, while IMMP's Mark Palmer warned the population could functionally collapse within a decade. The filing adds a new legal-pressure dimension to the tracker's ongoing gray whale population dispute, alongside NOAA's own July 15, 2026 survey-based estimate of ~17,750 individuals that had complicated the 'catastrophic mortality event' narrative built on this year's stranding count.