SAN DIEGO — It can be difficult for some to watch as one of two dead fin whales was towed out to sea Tuesday after being hit by an Australian Navy ship.
John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research Biologist based in Washington said,
"It is very unusual, and I don't know of any other case where two whales have been struck and on the bow of a ship together like this.”
Michael Milstein, public affairs officer for NOAA Fisheries says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is assisting with the carcass removal as scientists work to determine what happened. Milstein said the Navy contracted with a vessel to tow the larger whale carcass out of San Diego Bay for disposal at sea.
"It usually occurs when the whale is at the surface, and the ship is unaware that the whale is there and just basically runs into them and it can either be struck by the bow of the vessel or sometimes they are caught and injured by the propeller,” Calambokidis said.
Calambokidis studies ship strikes like the one that took place Saturday around 9:45 a.m. when The Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Sydney was berthing alongside Naval Base San Diego and discovered two deceased whales dislodged from the bottom of the ship.
WATCH: Chopper8: Australian Naval ship that hit 2 whales docked in San Diego
San Diego Web cam shows the day it happened as two fin whales believed to be mother and calf were hit below. A statement from the Australian Department of Defence reads:
The U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy are cooperating with the NOAA Fisheries and other agencies to review the incident.
The Navy takes marine mammal safety seriously and is disheartened this incident occurred.
The HMAS Sydney is the last of the three ships of the Hobart Class guided missile destroyers, constructed in Australia for maritime security. A Naval Base San Diego spokesperson says it been here since April.
“It would be valuable and important for the Navy to be paying more attention to, but the bigger problem probably is the larger commercial cargo ships. They should try to identify areas of whale concentration to have ships use waters away from those areas, and also when vessels are in areas of high whale activity to slow down,” Calambokidis said.