Dead sei whale a reminder of the risk boats pose to whales

It’s an image no one ever wants to see: an enormous, majestic whale, dead, draped over the bow of a ship. But last week an endangered sei whale was found across the bow of a cruise ship as it entered the Port of Brooklyn.

We’re still waiting for the final results of the necropsy, but based on the initial injuries scientists found, and fact that the mature female appeared to be in otherwise good health, it’s likely that this whale died from a boat strike.

The grim news was another reminder that, almost 50 years after the official end of whaling, we’re still killing whales.

Sei whales, like North Atlantic right whales, are gentle giants that can grow to a length of 60 feet. And like right whales, they were hunted heavily during the days of industrial whaling–according to NOAA, approximately 300,000 sei whales were killed during the 1800s and 1900s.

While the hunt for sei whales is (mostly) over, they are still being impacted by human activities.

Sei whales are less predictable than most other whales, but we do know that these filter feeders migrate to the Gulf of Maine and New England for their rich summer feeding grounds. That means that ships entering northeastern ports might come across these whales while they’re busy feeding–and a sei whale won’t necessarily notice boats are approaching until it’s too late.

That’s why it’s important we take action to protect these amazing animals. Slowing down boats is one of the most effective strategies we have to stop ships running over whales.

As Biden administration considers a rule to slow down boats and save right whales, this most recent whale death is a good reminder of what risks fast ships pose for all of the gentle giants off our coast.

Because if we want to never again to see a dead whale draped over the bow of a ship, we need to do more to save our whales.