Imagine waking up in an oceanfront hotel room, walking out to the balcony, and seeing humpback whales breach just offshore. It’s a magical way to start the day and there aren’t many places in the world where that’s possible.
Whales are part of our Pismo Beach community–they’re with us while we walk along the pier, sip coffee on the beach, or bike along Price Street. They entertain, surprise, and bring us awe-inspiring moments.
The Pismo Beach Stewardship and Educational Outreach Program recognizes the importance of these magnificent creatures to our town and wants to honor and steward their presence.
Thanks to the incredible support from our community!
Thanks to the incredible support from our community and visitors, Pismo Beach adopted a humpback whale through the organization Happywhale! This was made possible through our Stewardship and Educational Outreach Program, which hosted its second annual stewardship event, A Splash of Wine and Whales.
Over 200 attendees raised $3,100 for marine conservation, allowing the city to adopt and name a whale. To pick a name, the program decided to engage the next generation of ocean stewards in the task! After leading two interactive whale assemblies at Shell Beach Elementary, students brainstormed name ideas for attendees to cast their votes.
After an exciting tally, Finley was the winning name, with 70 votes, beating out Pismo, Sunshine, and Clam.
More About Finley
Due to Happywhale’s incredible database, we know a lot about Finley! While we don’t know its gender, we do know it’s been in our waters year after year. Thanks to the incredible whale-watching boat community and the visitors on the tours, photos can track where this whale has been.
Finley was first spotted in Morro Bay in June of 2022, where it spent a few months bouncing around the central coast before heading down to Cabo San Lucas for winter breeding months.
In 2023, Finley returned to the central coast and was spotted by Avila Beach Whale Watching on September 14th. This spotting was right off of the Pismo Beach Pier!
We’re eager to see where 2025 brings Finley and hope to see it come back to our waters this spring.
About Happy Whale & Citizen Science
Happy Whale is a citizen science project that allows anyone to contribute to whale research with a simple photo. Since whale flukes (underside of the tail) and dorsal fins are unique to each whale like a fingerprint, scientists can track individual whales through photo submissions.
Whale-watching tours, individuals, and scientists all submit data to this website that allows researchers to better understand long-term monitoring of whales’ movements, health, and population dynamics.
Who Else is Swimming Off Our Shores?
While Finley is one of our local humpbacks, many other whale species also visit our shores throughout the year due to the nutritious waters. This area’s ecosystem has upwelling currents that bring waters packed with fish, krill, and plankton. It’s a buffet for the whales, leading them to spend a few months in our waters to bulk up before heading south on their migration.
Around this area, the most common sightings include:
Humpback Whales – The Personalities
Season: March – November
If you ask whale naturalists their favorite type of whale, most will say humpbacks. While they are known to put on a spectacular show, they also have some of the strongest individual personalities of any whale. Yes, whales have personalities too!
These acrobatic giants are known for breaching their entire bodies out of the water, slapping their tails loudly for minute+ long performances, and their unique social feeling method called bubble-net feeding. It’s a spectacle to witness!
Humpbacks are the most frequently spotted whales along the Central Coast. While many of them are just passing through, there are a select few that stop and feed in our waters for many months before turning around to go back south.
In the North Pacific, there are three defined populations of humpbacks–the Central North Pacific population that travels between Hawaii and northern British Columbia or Alaska, the Western North Pacific that travel between Japan and the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands, and the whale we see that travel the West Coast between Alaska and Baja.
The humpbacks around our waters are the southernmost of four subgroups of the West Coast travelers, meaning they often go the furthest South in Baja Mexico, and not as far North as the others.
Fun Facts:
- They have the largest pectoral fins of any whale. They can be up to one-third of their body length, helping them be more maneuverable in the water.
- They are identified by their fluke, which is the pattern on the underside of their tail. Think of it like a fingerprint!
- Their sprouts blow mist up to 15 feet high, making them the easiest to spot when whale watching.
- They communicate through song.
Gray Whales – The Elders
Season: December – April, sometimes later
Gray whales are marathon swimmers, completing one of the greatest migrations known to Earth. They travel over 10,000 miles annually between their feeding grounds in Alaska and their breeding lagoons in Baja California. They pass by Pismo Beach twice a year—southbound in winter and northbound in spring with their newborn calves.
Fun facts:
- They are the oldest baleen whales.
- Their blow is lower than other whales at 3-4 meters in height and often heart-shaped.
- They rarely breach, but do feed in shallow waters with dramatic moves. They will turn sharply, raising their pectoral fins and/or tail flukes out of the water.
- Unlike other whales, they are bottom feeders.
Blue Whales – The Giants
Season: June – December
Status: Endangered under the Endangered Species Act
It’s rare to see the blue whales, but once every few years, they will come closer to shore on their migration. They are the largest animals on the planet, growing up to 100 feet long and weighing nearly 200 tons. They are less common than humpbacks and grays and will feed in deeper waters off the coast, making it difficult to see them without a boat.
Fun facts:
- They are possibly the largest animals ever to live on Earth!
- They can spout water up to 30 feet high!
- They use low-frequency and long-distance sounds to communicate from up to 1,000 miles away, and the sounds are so deep that they rumble enough to be felt.
Orcas – The Apex Predators
Season: They can be seen all year, but are more commonly spotted from September-May.
Orcas, also known as killer whales, are an exciting yet less frequent visitor around the Central Coast. These intelligent and social predators sometimes pass through the area, particularly when hunting sea lions or even other whales.
Fun facts:
- They’re not whales! They are actually the largest member of the dolphin family.
- The black-and-white coloring acts as camouflage for hunting in the water.
- They have distinct dialects—each pod has its own unique set of calls and sounds.
- Different groups of orcas practice unique hunting styles. One of these is called “wave washing,” where they create waves to knock seals off ice.
- The families use sophisticated teamwork strategies to hunt.
- Female orcas can live up to 90 years, making them one of the longest-living marine mammals.
How You Can Help The Whales
Human interaction is a huge part of whale’s lives. It’s important that during these interactions, people remain good stewards of the ocean and these animals. NOAA is a fantastic organization that has outlined rules for people watching whales.
The best things you can do to ensure the whales are happy and healthy are:
- Watch them from a distance! Whether you’re on a vessel, kayak, SUP, or whatever else, you’ll want to view animals from a safe distance of 500 yards where they won’t be disturbed.
- Don’t touch, feed, or chase them.
- Keep pets away from all marine animals.
- Pick up trash on the beaches to reduce plastic waste.
If you’d like to volunteer to help whales, you might consider some of these opportunities:
- Restore and preserve local watersheds. Both The Land Conservancy and Creek Lands have great opportunities for this in San Luis Obispo County.
- Educate yourself and your community! The more people know, the more they often want to help.
- Work with local marine groups like Surfrider SLO, Revive Dive, or the Marine Mammal Center.
- Ask public decision-makers to support strong shoreline protections and reduced vessel speeds for ships.
By taking small steps, we can help protect Finley and all the other incredible whales that call Pismo Beach home. We hope you’ll join us in being stewards of our ocean and look forward to welcoming Finley back next season.
