Whale Found Dead in Oakland Estuary Killed by Ship Strike

Photo courtesy of the Marine Mammal Center

Bay City News Service

A whale found dead in the Oakland Estuary on Wednesday died from blunt force trauma caused by a ship strike, according to scientists who conducted a necropsy.

A team of 14 scientists from the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco conducted the necropsy at Angel Island State Park this morning, according to Marine Mammal Center officials.

They found fractured and dislocated vertebrae and ribs and hemorrhaging that indicated the whale, an immature male fin whale around 52 feet long, was struck while it was still alive. They also collected samples and data for future studies, according to center officials.

The Coast Guard first notified the National Marine Fisheries Service of a stranded whale floating in the estuary at about 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, according to the fisheries service.

The whale was found in the waters near Mariner Square Marina in Alameda, an employee at the marina said.

The whale’s body was towed to Angel Island State Park on Thursday, with the help of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to the
Marine Mammal Center.

The center received a report earlier in the week regarding a whale carcass that fell off the bow of a large ship in the San Francisco Bay.

Scientists will try to find out if this whale is the same one mentioned in the report, center officials said.

“Every whale stranding is an important opportunity to learn more about these creatures and how we can prevent future deaths,” senior scientist at the Marine Mammal Center Dr. Frances Gulland said in a statement.

“With an increase in worldwide shipping, deaths from ship strikes will become more and more of a problem. Locally we must identify a solution that both works for shipping companies and keeps whales safe,” Gulland said.

The dead whale is the latest of several that have turned up in the Bay Area, including three found on the shores of Pacifica since April.

• Pygmy sperm whale, Point Reyes National Seashore, CA, January 2015

Cause of Death: currently awaiting histology reports

• Sperm whale, Pacifica, CA, April 2015

Cause of Death: Unknown

• Orca, Fort Bragg, CA, April 2015

Cause of Death: Entanglement

• Humpback whale, Pacifica, CA, May 2015

Cause of Death: Trauma consistent with ship strike injuries

• Gray whale, Sonoma, CA, May 2015

Cause of Death: Unknown

• Humpback whale, Pacifica, CA, August 2015

Cause of Death: Trauma consistent with ship strike injuries

The whale found Wednesday is the first discovered in the Bay itself this year.