Cut Whale Dies in the Bay

[ellicat]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-17/whale-washes-up-in-moreton-bay-with-propeller-cuts-to-head/5676732

Southern right whale washes up dead on Peel Island with deep propeller cuts to head

By Saskia Edwards and Patrick Williams

(Darren Burns)

A whale has washed up dead with deep propeller cuts to its head after being hit by a boat in Moreton Bay.

It was one of two whales hit by a boat in the past few days, with one hit on Friday.

A Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service spokesperson confirmed the dead southern right whale that washed up was an eight-metre-long female sub-adult and unlikely to have had a calf.

It had three deep propeller cuts to the head and was assumed to have died before it washed ashore late on Friday.

"The dead whale has different marking to the one sighted after being hit by a ferry off Goat Island in the early hours of yesterday morning (Friday), and that whale has not been seen today," the spokesperson said.

"There have been no reported sightings of other whales or a calf."

Stradbroke Ferries general manager David Thompson confirmed on Saturday one of the company's vessels hit a whale on Friday morning.

He said the ferry was cruising between Cleveland and North Stradbroke when it surfaced in front of the vessel.

The company reported the incident to Maritime Safety QLD and to Parks and Wildlife.

He said his water taxis follow all safety precautions but the whale could not be avoided.

"The driver does this trip 12 times a day and was on course, on timetable, on speed and it simply surfaced in front of his vessel," Mr Thompson said.

"It's a bit like a car accident I guess. If someone jumps out in front of you, there's not much you can do about it."

Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation's Darren Burns said he would be having discussions with Marine Parks to better protect the whales.

"The vessel traffic that goes through that part of the bay is the main ferry route to Stradbroke Island to Cleveland," he said.

"These whales come into the bay every year.

"So this is whale season. So obviously measures haven't been put in place to facilitate some protective measures for this time of year."

Park rangers will continue to patrol southern bay areas this weekend and to look out for the injured whale and any calf that may have been with it.

The carcass of the dead whale will be towed to the northern side of Peel Island and beached as high as possible on the high tide to allow its natural decomposition to continue.

[samsteele115]

No good. A mate of mine studying marine biology spotted a mother and calf southern right last week south of peel so could have been the mother. Shame

[ellicat]

I think the article says it's size meant it was sub-adult, therefore not a mum.

[samsteele115]

Ahh fair enough. Obviously underestimated their size!