[CINC] Fin whale death

[Clare Fritzsche]

/FYI, I thought you might be interested in seeing this message that went 
out to the Sanctuary Advisory Council:/

Sanctuary Advisory Council members:

We recently received word from NOAA Fisheries about a dead fin whale 
that came in to the Port of Long Beach on the bow of a ship.  Below are 
two press clips about this.  We do not have any additional information 
at this time, such as results from the biological examination or 
estimates, if possible, as to when and where the collision might have 
taken place.  At the November 14th SAC meeting in Ventura there will be 
an update on ship strike work and discussion time, and any additional 
information about this incident can be shared.

Regards,

Mike

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On the Waterfront: Cargo ship kills whale

http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_10772522
Press-Telegram
Long Beach, CA
LONG BEACH: Critics say collisions are inevitable as long as there is no 
speed limit for vessels in area.

By Kris Hanson, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/20/2008 10:12:34 PM PDT

A female whale's carcass is draped over a portion of the bow of a 
massive container ship in the port of Long Beach on Monday. The dead fin 
whale was later turned over to the city for disposal at sea. This was 
the first known whale collision of the year. (Scott 
Smeltzer/Press-Telegram)

Biologists are investigating the death of a fin whale that appears to 
have been struck and killed by a freight ship near the ports.
The 48-foot female was towed into the Port of Long Beach on the bow of a 
massive container ship late Saturday and remained there Monday as marine 
biologists examined the corpse.

The whale's body was later released to city officials for disposal at 
sea, said Joe Cordero, a wildlife biologist with the National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
It appears the ship struck the whale while traversing a busy shipping 
lane leading into the port. The ship's captain told investigators he 
wasn't aware of the incident until arriving in the harbor, Cordero said.

It's the first known fatal ship strike of a whale in Southern California 
this year, following a tragic fall 2007 whale migration season during 
which at least three, and as many as five, endangered blue whales were 
killed by ships off the Southland coast.

Those deaths, in September and October 2007, created an outcry among 
conservationists concerned that authorities were failing to adequately 
warn ship operators about the unusually large concentrations of blues in 
the area at the time.

The Coast Guard did issue an advisory, but ruled against compelling 
ships to slow down.

Brendan Cummings of the Center for Biological Diversity said the latest 
death isn't surprising given the federal government's refusal to set 
speed limits for ships travelingin the area.

"If the ships were just made to slow down a bit, many of these strikes 
could be prevented, or even if they did occur, they wouldn't be fatal," 
Cummings said.
In June, the center filed a lawsuit against the Coast Guard accusing the 
agency of violating the federal Endangered Species Act by failing to 
adequately protect whales from ship traffic in Southern California.

Under federal law, the Coast Guard is required to work with the National 
Marine Fisheries Service to develop methods that preserve natural whale 
habitats and migration patterns.

"Even a creature as gigantic as a blue whale doesn't stand a chance 
against a speeding container ship that's longer than a couple of 
football fields and weighs thousands of tons," said Andrea Treece, an 
attorney for the center. "We're lucky to share our coastal waters with 
these amazing creatures. We need to make sure that we're respecting 
their home and not mowing them down with our imported goods."

Fin whales, an internationally endangered species, typically feed off 
San Clemente Island, but can be found throughout the U.S. West Coast.
The massive creatures grow up to 90 feet in length and weigh as much as 
150,000 pounds - making them the world's second-largest mammal behind 
the blue whale.

Fin whales are also known as razorback or finback whales because of the 
distinctive v-shaped patterns on their backs.

--------

A sad ending for 46-foot fin whale struck by ship

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2008/10/a-sad-ending-fo.html
Los Angeles Times
3:03 PM, October 22, 2008

Somewhere in choppy seas beyond San Francisco is the carcass of the 
46-foot fin whale you see in these photos. The whale was struck by a 
freighter in the shipping lanes and brought unknowingly into Long Beach 
Harbor on Saturday.

It remained pinned to the enormous freighter's bow well after the 
northbound vessel departed Monday. A shipping agent told Joe Cordaro, a 
biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, that the whale 
washed off the vessel Tuesday in the Bay Area.

It is the first such incident since last September, when a 70-foot blue 
whale was brought into Long Beach Harbor in the same macabre position. 
Cordaro said there is an average of one known vessel-whale collision per 
year off our coast, but added that last year there were four in a 30-day 
period, all involving blue whales.

The fin whale struck by the Chinese freighter was  a female between 1 to 
3 years of age. Cordaro said it was too large to be removed for 
examination and port authorities decided the best way to deal with it 
was to let the ship carry it back to sea.

A sad way to migrate, for sure.

-- Pete Thomas

-------------------

-- 
Michael Murray
Deputy Superintendent for Programs
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
113 Harbor Way, Suite 150
Santa Barbara, CA  93109-2315
805/884-1464 (voice)
805/568-1582 (fax)
michael.murray at noaa.gov
http://channelislands.noaa.gov
 


-- 
Clare Fritzsche
Volunteer Administration
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
Channel Islands National Park
Schedule for week of November 3:
MON-WED - 8am-12pm & 2-6pm, Santa Barbara (805) 966-7107 x366
THU - 9:30-10:45am, Oxnard (805) 382-6149 x105
             2-6pm, Santa Barbara (805) 966-7107 x366
FRI - Santa Cruz Island
Cellular: (805) 729-0127
Santa Barbara FAX: (805) 568-1582


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