El Niño Warming Pushes Blue Whales From Galápagos
A nine-month search found no blue whales, pointing to El Niño-driven ocean changes that may have shifted their food supply.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Environmental
A nine-month expedition from October 2025 to July 2026 searched the Galápagos Islands for blue whales, which were not seen during the search. The research, a retrospective account, is observational fieldwork rather than a shipped or announced technology.
Why it matters
Blue whale sightings began declining between August and September 2025, following a strong El Niño that warmed Pacific waters to levels researchers describe as unprecedented. The episode points to how marine warming can disrupt the feeding grounds of large marine mammals.
The expedition's measurements show sea surface temperatures of 77.9 to 81.6 degrees Fahrenheit and an isotherm of about 68 degrees Fahrenheit located between 256 and 315 feet deep. These figures are compared against a 2024 study that tracked 16 blue whales in the Galápagos from 2021 to 2023, while the cause of the decline and the whales' current location remain unconfirmed.
The players
Galápagos National Park Directorate
The Ecuadorian government agency that manages the Galápagos National Park and conducted the nine-month blue whale search.
Cetácea Galápagos
A local network that reported the September sighting of an adult blue whale with its calf at Punta Pitt, San Cristóbal.
The details
Researchers from the Galápagos National Park Directorate searched for blue whales over nine months, aiming to tag them with satellite transmitters. Blue whales feed on krill, tiny shrimp-like animals, and the team's measurements suggest the temperature band where the whales feed may not have overlapped with the depth at which krill was located. A strong El Niño, a periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean, reduced primary productivity, meaning less of the plankton that supports the food chain.
Timeline
Blue whale sightings began declining between August and September 2025.
The nine-month expedition ran from October 2025 to July 2026.
Two unconfirmed blue whale reports were logged in May and June 2026.
An adult blue whale and calf were sighted at Punta Pitt in September 2026.
The Tech Race
The 2024 study tracking 16 blue whales from 2021 to 2023 provides the baseline against which the current decline is measured. The Galápagos expedition sits within the broader monitoring effort that now relies on satellite transmitters to follow whale movements across changing ocean conditions.
For people who follow marine wildlife or ocean tourism, the decline means fewer reliable blue whale sightings in the Galápagos for now. The effect on everyday life is indirect, though changes in ocean productivity can ripple into fisheries and coastal communities.
The takeaway
Watch whether blue whale sightings in the Galápagos recover once El Niño conditions ease, a result that would confirm the link to ocean temperature. The Galápagos National Park Directorate's future monitoring reports will show whether the whales return to the islands or remain farther south.
What happens next
Scientists will be watching closely to see how the entire ecosystem responds to the continuing El Niño conditions.
Further reading
For broader context on how warming oceans are reshaping marine life, explore our Environmental coverage.
