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

A cruise ship docked in Brooklyn over the weekend with a grisly passenger on its bow: a dead, 50,000-pound endangered sei whale.

The death of the 44-foot-long adult female whale is the latest example of marine mammals being killed by maritime 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 struck by boats.

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

The dead whale was towed from the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to the beach in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. There, Atlantic Marine Conservation Society officials conducted a necropsy, which determined the whale had a full stomach and was in good health. Further examination revealed that the right shoulder blade was injured and the right fin was broken, probably as a result of a ship attack. Although the official cause of the whale’s death was not yet clear, initial signs point to a ship collision.

A spokesman for the ship’s operator, MSC Cruises, said the company had protocols in place to avoid collisions with whales. Deck officers receive training to protect marine life and the company sometimes changes its itineraries to avoid areas where whales have been spotted.

“On Saturday, a whale was spotted on the bow of our ship as the ship approached New York Harbor,” MSC Cruises spokesman 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. It is estimated that 20,000 whales die worldwide every year as a result of ship strikes.

The Port of New York is home to the busiest U.S. port on the Atlantic. Almost 7.5 million containers come and go from the port every year. About 40% of whale deaths on the East Coast are directly related to human interactions. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, increasing numbers of humpback whales have been dying along the Atlantic coast since 2016, a pattern the federal agency calls an unusual mortality event.

“Cruise ships are a common cause of whale deaths worldwide,” wrote Danielle Brown, research director at Gotham Whale. “Whales feed in the shipping channels that these ships use to transit to and from ports in 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 asking them to impose ship speed limits on vessels of one length in the ports of New York and New Jersey of more than 65 feet. Thirteen other members of Congress joined Pallone in expressing concern that increased port traffic threatens migrating whales.

While white-bellied sei whales typically live far offshore and away from busy ports, climate change has brought more whales closer to shore. According to NOAA, whales are affected by changing water temperatures and currents. Climate change is negatively impacting whales’ feeding behavior, stress levels and reproduction.

Although sei whales are endangered due to historic whaling, their populations are unknown. Their diet includes plankton, small schooling 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.

“Sailors operating along the U.S. East Coast are encouraged to slow their vessel speeds, remain vigilant, and report any sightings of right whales or dead, injured, or entangled whales,” the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society wrote.