Challenging situation to remove dead fin whale from beach
Apr/15/13 01:05 PM
NOAA’s NW Marine Mammal Stranding expert reports that they are working with several groups, including the City of Burien and Burien Parks and Recreation, to find a solution to both crowd control and the removal the fin whale that washed ashore Saturday at Seahurst Park. Large whale strandings are extremely complicated situations, usually taking a minimum of 3-5 days to resolve. Since the backbone and rear half of the whale is missing, towing the whale either to another location for necropsy or to sink in the Sound is difficult. There is no tail fluke to tie rope to and towing the whale by the head causes too much drag for many vessels to handle. With very limited funding for marine mammal strandings, NOAA is working to find an educational or scientific facility interested in obtaining the huge, intact skull and potentially help with the logistics of removal.
After a chaotic Sunday with hundreds of onlookers at the beach (many with young children touching and climbing on the whale), Burien Parks is establishing a tape perimeter with signage, in hopes to keep people safely away from the immense whale. Marine mammals can carry infectious disease. Touching the animal carcass or blood and bodily fluids is inherently dangerous. Please admire this magnificent whale from a safe distance.
ADDITIONAL NOTE 10:26 pm
Like Seal Sitters, most marine mammal stranding networks across the region (and nation) are all-volunteer with little or no funding and paid staff. Some networks are smaller than others and volunteers are not always available. Not every network can have a dawn to dusk presence on site.
Seal Sitters MMSN responds to marine mammals, dead or alive, from Brace Point (just south of the Fauntleroy ferry dock) and all West Seattle shoreline through the Duwamish River (including Harbor Island). If you see a marine mammal on the beach, please call our dedicated hotline 206-905-7325 (SEAL).
After a chaotic Sunday with hundreds of onlookers at the beach (many with young children touching and climbing on the whale), Burien Parks is establishing a tape perimeter with signage, in hopes to keep people safely away from the immense whale. Marine mammals can carry infectious disease. Touching the animal carcass or blood and bodily fluids is inherently dangerous. Please admire this magnificent whale from a safe distance.
ADDITIONAL NOTE 10:26 pm
Like Seal Sitters, most marine mammal stranding networks across the region (and nation) are all-volunteer with little or no funding and paid staff. Some networks are smaller than others and volunteers are not always available. Not every network can have a dawn to dusk presence on site.
Seal Sitters MMSN responds to marine mammals, dead or alive, from Brace Point (just south of the Fauntleroy ferry dock) and all West Seattle shoreline through the Duwamish River (including Harbor Island). If you see a marine mammal on the beach, please call our dedicated hotline 206-905-7325 (SEAL).
