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Endangered Pregnant Fin Whale Found Dead on Bow of Cruise Ship in Alaska
NOAA Fisheries is investigating whether the 61-foot female was struck by the vessel, while a necropsy will determine how the endangered whale died.
- On Friday, June 19, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship arrived in Seward, Alaska, with a dead 61-foot pregnant fin whale on its bulbous bow, prompting an investigation by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
- Fin whales are an endangered species particularly vulnerable to vessel strikes, which the International Marine Mammal Project says kill about 20,000 whales annually, often concentrated in busy shipping lanes near major ports.
- The NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement is investigating the death while collaborating with the Alaska SeaLife Center to perform a necropsy to determine the cause of death.
- "It's heart-wrenching," said Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at the Center for Biological Diversity, calling for mandatory speed limits, while Royal Caribbean stated it is cooperating fully with federal authorities.
- Similar incidents occurred in Seward in 2006 and 2016 involving other cruise lines, and while uncommon in Alaska, researchers continue working with operators to understand how vessels can avoid striking whales.
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32 Articles
Dead fin whale carried into Alaska port on cruise ship bow, investigation underway
Government regulators and scientists are investigating the death of a fin whale that was carried on the bow of a cruise ship into Seward on Friday. The dead female whale, measuring 61 feet and apparently pregnant, was moved by local…
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Total News Sources32
Leaning Left4Leaning Right3Center20Last UpdatedBias Distribution74% Center
Bias Distribution
- 74% of the sources are Center
74% Center
15%
C 74%
11%
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