The Beachly

Two more blue whales have been struck and killed by ships traversing California's busy shipping lanes, bringing to five the number of whales known to have been killed in such a manner during the past 12 months.

The latest discovery was made Monday, when a 70-foot female blue whale washed ashore in Mendocino County with deep gashes caused by a collission with an ocean survey vessel, said Joe Cordero of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Last week another blue whale washed up in Monterey County, also having been hit by a ship
In April, a dead 60-foot fin whale discovered in the Port of Los Angeles suffered broken bones and internal bleeding after being struck by a 900-foot container ship, officials said Thursday.

Veterinarians found bruising, broken shoulder blades, shattered ribs and evidence of organ damage during a brief necropsy of the whale, which was found on the ship's bow April 11. 

The whale was hit by the container ship OOCL Japan somewhere between the Santa Barbara Channel and San Pedro Bay, though an exact location is unknown, said Cordero, a wildlife biologist.

 
In February, another fin whale washed up on a beach in San Diego County after being struck by a ship near San Clemente Island, Cordero said.
And in October, a 48-foot female fin was dragged into the Port of Long Beach on the bow of a container ship after being struck in the Santa Barbara Channel.

An internationally endangered species, fin whales are the world's second-largest mammals behind blue whales. The fin whales frequent waters around San Clemente Island, where food is abundant, but they can be found anywhere off the West Coast. 

Six blue whales have been killed by ship strike since October 2007.

In June, the Center for Biological Diversity sued the federal government in response to the earlier deaths, saying the Coast Guard is violating the federal Endangered Species Act by failing to adequately protect whales from ship traffic, as required under federal law.

 The case is pending.

Source: http://www.insidesocal.com/presscorps/2009/10/blue-whale-struck-by-ship-in-n.html

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