Pacific gray whales are making another big showing off the Los Angeles coastline this year.

Record numbers of the 40-ton marine mammals were spotted swimming past the Palos Verdes Peninsula in 2015, and this year is shaping up to be a busy one as well for whale watchers.

“We started our official gray-whale season on December 26 and, so far, we’ve seen a gray whale every trip we’ve been out,” said Dan Salas, owner of Harbor Breeze Cruises nature tours and whale-watching trips from Long Beach and San Pedro. “Tuesday was our best day so far.”

• PHOTOS: Whale-watching off the Palos Verdes Peninsula coast

Fourteen gray whales were spotted by Salas’ Tuesday morning boats. Meanwhile, whale watchers posted with binoculars at Point Vicente counted more than 20 grays passing the Palos Verdes Peninsula on Tuesday morning, said Alisa Schulman-Janiger, director of the Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project for the Los Angeles chapter of the American Cetacean Society. This is the 33rd year the research count has taken place off Point Vicente from dawn to dusk throughout the gray-whale season, from December through May.

“We are well above average, but still below our record year last year,” Schulman-Janiger said. “Last week, we had three days in a row sighting 37 or 38 gray whales, and those were rainy or windy days with low visibility.”

The Pacific gray whale population, which lives most of the year in Alaska, migrates in the winter to Mexican lagoons to mate and give birth in warm water. Schulman-Janiger said their migrations have been occurring earlier in the season in recent years. That could be due to warmer seas causing Alaskan ice sheets to melt quicker, making it easier for the whales to reach the small crustaceans they eat on the sea floor.

“If they’re getting to their feeding grounds easier because of reduced ice coverage, then pregnant moms might be leaving earlier (for Mexico),” Schulman-Janiger said. “It’s better for gray whales if they migrate earlier. That means their babies have a better chance for survival. I’ve seen a few skinny whales, but many more very pregnant gray whales with some calves.”

By Tuesday, gray-whale census takers had counted about 520 gray whales — with 11 calves — traveling south past Point Vicente this season.

“It’s amazing we can spot them from shore, and we need extra volunteers to track them,” Schulman-Janiger said, adding that volunteers are needed particularly on weekends and Wednesdays. “This is the only full-season gray whale census in the world.”

Volunteers also tally other species commonly seen in the area, including humpback, fin and minke whales. Dolphins and birds also are tracked. Volunteers must work at least one hour per week when their schedule allows, she said.

To volunteer, contact Schulman-Janiger by email at janiger@cox.net.