Abramson on new warning to ships after fin whale's death
Editor's Note: Leslie's work with the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary is supported with a Leadership Grant from the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation.
Whales feeding on abundant krill are crowding the California coast in such unusual numbers that marine sanctuary officials are urging large ships to slow down as they approach San Francisco Bay.
The "notice to mariners" was also broadcast Tuesday by the Coast Guard.
The warnings were issued after a bleeding rare fin whale, which officials said was fatally slashed in a "ship strike," washed ashore at Point Reyes National Seashore last month.
Captains and their crews aboard large ships are urged to "keep a sharp lookout" for whales in their paths, and to slow their speeds to 10 knots (11.5 mph) as they enter waters where the whales are evident, said Leslie Abramson of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.
The death of the fin whale "was really a wake-up call for us," said Abramson, the sanctuary's advisory council coordinator who works with the Bay Area shipping industry.
