Sperm Whale Towed Out to Sea After Dying on Deerfield Beach (VIDEO)
NOAA scientists raise a stink over the risk-averting decision by city officials

Posted Tuesday, December 18, 2012

 
 E-mail this page
 Printer-friendly page

On Sunday, December 16th, 2012, beachgoers spotted a young female sperm whale that was a few yards off the shore in Pompano Beach. The whale appeared to be dying, but before it became stranded on the beach, it was pushed back out by the outgoing tide.

The next day it came ashore just north of the Deerfield Beach Pier, reported the Sun Sentinel.

According to statements made to the Sun Sentinel by Deerfield Beach Mayor Peggy Noland, the whale had begun to leak blood, and life guards were told to be on the alert for sharks.

NOAA scientists were hoping to tow the carcass of the whale to a park 20 miles away so they could conduct a necropsy, but efforts by Deerfield Beach city officials to tow it off the beach made that impossible.

“It started bleeding. And they can explode,” said Mayor Peggy Noland to the Sun Sentinel. “No way are we going to let them cut this mammoth animal open on our beach. The stench would be incredible. Cut him open, and then cut the head off? I don’t think so.”

Besides the smell, keeping the dead animal on the beach would deter tourists from enjoying the beaches during the winter months, as well as potentially adversely affect businesses and residents.

The Sun Sentinel reported that at about 1:30 p.m., on Monday, December 17th, a Sea Tow tug boat hooked a line to the tail of the 30-ton leviathan and towed it out to toward the Gulf Stream.

NOAA' southeast region stranding coordinator, Blair Mase, said the mayor's decision was, “Very disappointing.” In the Sun Sentinel article she is further quoted as stating, “I understand she is trying to do her job. But we’re trying to do our jobs. [A necropsy] would provide invaluable information from a conservation perspective. We need to know the cause of death.”

NOAA scientists had spotted markings that appeared to show some kind of blunt trauma to the animal, which may indicate that it had been hit by a ship.

Mase said she had considered invoking federal law to overrule the city's decision, but given the agency's scant funds, they would have to borrow the city's machinery to bring the whale completely onshore. There was little chance that the city would cooperate and allow use of the equipment. There is a chance, however, that the dead animal could arrive on shore again, albeit in a different location.

Meanwhile, in a related investigation, NOAA's law enforcement division is seeking to determine the identity of two swimmers that were photographed sitting on top of the whale as it was dying. The sperm whale is on the endangered species list. Harassing an endangered marine animal is a federal offense.