Seal Sitters received word at 10:15 last night that the dead fin whale had been successfully removed from Seahurst Park and the tow to a remote location was underway.

We received a call yesterday morning from NOAA NW MMSN stranding expert Kristin Wilkinson, inquiring if our volunteers could assist neighboring stranding network MaST (which covers south of Brace Point to Redondo) that afternoon on the Burien beach. We replied with an enthusiastic yes. Kristin said the logistics of removing the dead fin whale from the beach had been worked out and there was a need for volunteers to inform the public about the process and for crowd control. Global Diving and Salvage, hired by the City of Burien, would arrive in the afternoon to harness the huge animal, now resting high on the beach, prepare the whale for removal and return at high tide late in the night. The animal would then be towed to an island in South Puget Sound.

Seal Sitters volunteers arrived on scene at 1pm to find the perimeter (established by Parks on Monday after a mob scene the day before, fueled by tv coverage of the stranding) torn down in one area and the whale surrounded by people inside the “danger - do not enter” tape. Seal Sitters David and Buzz managed to move the crowd safely away and re-taped the open section of the perimeter near the tail. It is surmised that the whale shifted position at the earlier high tide and the tail broke the tape. Soon after, more SS volunteers arrived along with those from MaST and beach naturalists. Throughout the afternoon, they educated hundreds of curious observers on the biology of endangered fin whales, the dangers of ship strikes and the logistical challenges of moving such an immense whale.

Cascadia biologist Jessie Huggins and MaST’s Kaddee Lawrence instructed the salvage company on the best way to secure cable to the partially intact whale without damaging the skull. After securing with cables and barrels to keep the whale from sinking and creating drag while being towed, the preparation was complete.

The salvage company returned at about 10 pm last night and the tow was underway. Seal Sitters received word at 7:30 this morning that the whale was secured at the remote location where it will decompose naturally. The skull will be retrieved at a later date for research and educational purposes. This afternoon, members of WDFW-MMI and Cascadia will take more scientific samples.

Congratulations to Kristin, the cooperative efforts of the many stranding network members, beach naturalists and the City of Burien/Parks in this very complicated and demanding task.

Tags: stranded fin whale