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Dead whale may have been hit by a ship, researcher says
Delta Optimist
Published: Saturday, May 19, 2007

DELTA - A grey whale that washed ashore Thursday in Boundary Bay may have been struck by a ship.

Vancouver Aquarium researcher Bethany Lindsay spoke to the Tsawwassen resident who first spotted the whale and reported seeing blood on the mammal.

On Friday, the 10-metre (30-foot) whale showed signs that it had been bleeding. The dead whale appeared to be marked up quite badly.

Diane Lake with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said there were tentative plans to conduct a necropsy on the whale, part of the migrating Eastern North Pacific population of greys.

"They haven't determined yet if it will be done on shore or if they will tow it further out," Lake said.

A higher than normal tide -- over 15 feet (five metres) -- was expected in the bay over the weekend.

"If it was a ship strike, it will be obvious. A necropsy can also show other things such as an infection or whether the whale was starving," Lindsay said.

Since 1999, three grey whales have washed ashore in Washington state and the coast of B.C.

One of those was the whale that became stranded in Boundary Bay in 2005. Vancouver Aquarium marine mammal rescuers managed to coax that whale back out to sea. It was later reported to be healthy and well.

This latest whale wasn't so lucky.

A continuous stream of residents took advantage of low tide to walk out to the area -- a few hundred metres from shore between 12th and 16th avenues in Beach Grove.

Several whale-watching operations have reported seeing up to a dozen grey whales feeding in Boundary Bay over the last few weeks.

"This is right in the middle of the big migration," Lindsay said.

Eastern North Pacific grey whales migrate in the spring from the warm waters off Baja California to as far north as Alaska. According to DFO, some have been seen to stay near the B.C. coast for the duration of the summer.