Types of Whales in Alaska

Alaskan waters boast a wide range of whale inhabitance. Some reside in these cold waters year round and some migrate for long distances returning in the summer months to feed upon the abundant sea life and to bear their young.

At this point, we will cover the range of the various species of whales that inhabit the 4 basic coastal regions of Alaskan waters.

The decision was made to accept the regions used by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This decision is being adopted for ease of relating to any specific restrictions if and when they are placed upon the commercial whale observation industry.

• Beluga Whale:
  Distribution: Two populations occur in Alaska. The Cook Inlet population occurs in the inlet and Shelikof Strait region, although wanderers have been seen east to Yakutat Bay and to Kodiak Island. Belugas of the Bering Sea population range throughout the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas.
  • Locations
    • Beaufort Sea
    • Bristol Bay
    • Cook Inlet
    • Bering Sea
    • Chukchi Sea
• Blue Whale:
  Distribution: Blue whales may be found in all oceans of the world. They mate and calve in tropical-to-temperate waters during winter months and feed in polar waters during summer months. Blue whales in the northern hemisphere move north to Arctic waters to feed.
  • Locations
    • North Pacific, throughout Alaska waters in the summer months.
• Bowhead Whale:
  Distribution: Migration is seasonal. Always close to the edge of the Arctic icepack, bowhead whales follow it south to the Bering Sea in winter and northeast to the Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean, in summer.
  • Locations
    • Beaufort Sea
    • Bering Sea
    • Chukchi Sea
• Bottlenose Whales, Baird’s Beaked Whale
• Gray Whale:
  Distribution: Summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi Seas than south for their mating and calving lagoons in Baja California, Mexico.
  • Locations
    • North Pacific, throughout Alaska waters.
• Humpback Whale:
  Distribution: Found in all the world's oceans, most populations of humpback whales follow a regular migration route, summering in temperate and polar waters for feeding, and wintering in tropical waters for mating and calving.
  • Location:
    • North Pacific, throughout Alaska waters.
    • Glacier Bay
• Orca Whale:
  Distribution:
  • Location: Three Alaska Groups
    • Resident of Southeast Alaska waters.
    • Resident of North Pacific, throughout Alaska waters.
    • Transient, throughout Alaska waters. Resident and transient groups largely overla
• Minke Whale:
  Distribution:
  • Location:
    • North Pacific, throughout Alaska waters.
    • Glacier Bay Alaska
• Sperm Whale:
  Distribution: Found in all the world's oceans, sperm whale are seen during summer in temperate and polar waters for feeding, and winter in tropical waters for mating and calving.
  • Location:
    • Southeast, Gulf of Alaska and offshore in the Bering Sea

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