We delineated and scored Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) for cetacean species in the Gulf of Alaska region. BIAs represent areas and times in which cetaceans are known to concentrate for activities related to reproduction, feeding, and migration, and also the known ranges of small and resident populations. This National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)-led effort uses structured expert elicitation principles to b...

Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) are known to interfere with attacking killer whales ( Orcinus orca ). To investigate why, we reviewed accounts of 115 interactions between them. Humpbacks initiated the majority of interactions (57% vs . 43%; n = 72), although the killer whales were almost exclusively mammal‐eating forms ( MEKW s, 95%) vs . fish‐eaters (5%; n = 108). When MEKW s approached humpbacks ( n = 27), they at...

Aim Entanglement in fishing gear is recognized as a potentially significant source of serious injury and mortality for humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) in some parts of their range. In recent years, the number of humpback whales reported to have been entangled in Alaska has increased. In 2003–04 we quantified the prevalence of non‐lethal entanglements of humpback whales in northern Southeast Alaska (SEAK) with the ul...