NOAA says dead pregnant fin whale arrived in Seward on cruise ship bow

NOAA Fisheries Alaska says a cruise ship arrived at the dock in Seward on Friday, June 19, with a dead fin whale on top of the ship's bulbous bow.

The agency said a local company towed the whale to a nearby beach for a necropsy, or animal autopsy. NOAA said it is working with the Alaska SeaLife Center to examine the 61-foot adult female fin whale and determine the cause of death.

Initial findings indicate the whale was pregnant, according to NOAA.

The NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident. The agency asked anyone with information to call its 24-hour enforcement hotline at 800-853-1964.

Fin whales are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. NOAA reminded the public that it is illegal to collect tissue, baleen or any other part of the whale, unless the person is an Alaska Native collecting tissue or parts for subsistence or use in handicrafts.

NOAA also asked people to stay off the beach at the necropsy site for their safety and to give the examination team room to collect samples.

The update answers several questions that were still open when the whale was first reported in Seward: the species, the ship connection, the reason people were cutting into the carcass, and the fact that federal law enforcement is now investigating.

The cause of death has not been released. Alaska News will update this story as NOAA or the Alaska SeaLife Center releases more information. NOAA credited images from the scene to Kaiti Grant of the Alaska SeaLife Center.