ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A fin whale was found dead Thursday morning on the bow of a cruise ship in Sitka, according to authorities.<\/p>\n
The official cause of death has not been released, nor details on whether the whale was killed by an impact from the cruise ship or not.<\/p>\n
The carcass was found on the bow of the Norwegian Joy, operated by Norwegian Cruise Line.<\/p>\n
An official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that after it was alerted to the death, its Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network team responded to figure out how the whale died and the next steps.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s at least the second whale<\/a> that has been found on the bow of a cruise ship this year. In June, a 61-foot pregnant fin whale was discovered dead<\/a> on the front of the Ovation of the Seas, which is owned by Royal Caribbean Group.<\/p>\n Environmental groups condemned the death of the whale. The Center for Biological Diversity called the incident \u201cheartbreaking and infuriating.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThis is why people come to Alaska,\u201d said Cooper Freeman, Alaska Director with the Center for Biological Diversity. \u201cThey come to see our majestic wildlife. They don\u2019t want their cruise ships hitting and killing endangered whales.\u201d<\/p>\n Following the incident in June, the center released a statement urging Alaskan leaders to institute speed limits<\/a> in whale hot spots. <\/p>\n \u201cThe science is really clear that 10 knots or less is a speed limit that dramatically reduces both the chance of a large vessel hitting a whale, but also if it does happen to have an encounter with the whale, that it doesn\u2019t kill it,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n It was unknown at the time of publication how fast the cruise ship was traveling when the whale became entangled with it.<\/p>\n