Endangered 50,000-pound whale found dead on bow of cruise ship docked in Brooklyn

A cruise ship docked in Brooklyn over the weekend with a gruesome passenger pinned to its bow: an endangered 50,000-pound dead whale.

The death of the 44-foot adult female whale is the latest example of marine mammals being killed by shipping traffic. According to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, about 30 large whales were found dead along the coasts of New York and New Jersey last year. Most showed signs of having been hit by ships.

“While the investigation into the presumed cause of death of this sei whale is still ongoing, the risks to large whales from ship strikes remain a major concern in our region,” wrote Howard Rosenbaum, director of the Sei Whale Program. Ocean Giants from the Wildlife Conservation Society, via email.

The dead whale was transported from the Brooklyn cruise terminal to Sandy Hook Beach, New Jersey. There, officials from the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society performed a necropsy that found the whale had a full stomach and was in good health. Further examination found that his right shoulder blade was injured and his right fin was fractured, probably as a result of the collision with a ship. While the official cause of the whale’s death had not been determined, preliminary signs pointed to a collision with a ship.

A spokesman for the ship’s operator, MSC Cruises, said the company has protocols in place to avoid crashing into whales. Deck officers receive training on protecting marine life and the company sometimes alters its itineraries to avoid areas where whales have been sighted.

“A whale was discovered on the bow of our ship on Saturday as it approached New York Harbor,” MSC Cruises spokesperson Sidney Sterling wrote in an email. “We immediately notified the relevant authorities.”

Ten years ago, a 45-foot female whale was struck by a Norwegian Cruise Line ship in the Hudson River. An estimated 20,000 whales die annually as a result of being struck by ships around the world.

New York Harbor is home to the busiest US port on the Atlantic Ocean. Nearly 7.5 million containers enter and leave the port each year. About 40% of whale deaths off the East Coast are directly related to human interactions. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says humpback whales have been dying in increasing numbers along the Atlantic Coast since 2016, a pattern the federal agency describes as an unusual mortality event.

“Cruise ships are a common cause of whale mortality around the world,” wrote Danielle Brown, research director at Gotham Whale. “The whales feed within the shipping channels that these ships use to transit to and from the ports of New York and New Jersey.”

Last month, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-New Jersey) sent a letter to the Departments of Commerce, Transportation and Homeland Security requesting that they enforce ship speed restrictions at the ports of New York and New Jersey to boats over 65 feet. Thirteen other congressmen joined Pallone in expressing concern that increased port traffic threatens migrating whales.

While white-bellied sei whales typically live far from the coast and busy ports, climate change has brought more whales closer to shore. According to NOAA, whales are affected by changes in water temperature and currents. Climate change negatively affects the feeding behavior, stress levels and reproduction of whales.

Although sei whales are endangered due to historical whaling, their populations are unknown. Their diet includes plankton, small schools of fish, and cephalopods such as squid. They are typically found in deep subtropical, temperate, and subpolar waters, and spend the hot summer months in the Gulf of Maine.

NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is investigating this incident.

“Mariners operating along the East Coast of the United States are encouraged to slow their vessels, remain alert, and report any sightings of right whales or dead, injured, or entangled whales,” Atlantic Marine Conservation wrote. Society.