A dead whale on the beach in Seward has NOAA's attention

The Alaska SeaLife Center said NOAA Fisheries was notified Friday, June 19, of a dead stranded whale in Seward. The center said it is working with NOAA to respond, assess the animal, and determine next steps.

Public social media posts reviewed by Alaska News describe the whale being pulled up after it was found. Another post showed a cruise ship owned by Royal Caribbean, entering the harbor. A circulating video on Facebook shows people cutting into a fin whale on a rocky shoreline. Alaska News has not independently confirmed the species, cause of death, whether the work shown was a necropsy, disposal, or authorized salvage, or whether any vessel was involved.

NOAA says vessel strikes can kill or seriously injure marine mammals, and that strikes may go unnoticed or unreported by vessel operators. A NOAA-linked summary of reported whale-vessel collisions in Alaska documented 108 collisions from 1978 through 2011, including 25 known whale deaths. The authors said Alaska's remoteness makes documentation difficult and called for more necropsies of stranded whales.

NOAA's Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network says stranded animals can help scientists learn about disease, contaminants, age, feeding, entanglement, vessel strikes, and other human interactions. The agency tells the public not to move or touch stranded marine mammals without NOAA authorization.

There is also a cultural and legal dimension. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, NOAA says Alaska Native people, as defined by federal rules, may harvest most marine mammals for subsistence or for authentic Native handicrafts and clothing, so long as the take is not wasteful. Large whales are subject to additional international rules and quotas.

For now, the official record is limited.

This story is developing. Alaska News will update it as NOAA, the Alaska SeaLife Center, or local officials release more information.