Fisheries and Oceans Canada says it has confirmed a dead humpback whale was reported floating in Howe Sound following a whale strike near Grace Point on Oct. 18.
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A dead humpback whale was spotted floating in Howe Sound, B.C., about a week after a BC Ferries vessel collided with a whale in the same area, according to a statement from Fisheries Department Canada.
The department said two whales were seen near the ferry on Oct. 18 as it sailed between Grace Point and Keats Island in Howe Sound, and that one of the whales was struck after it surfaced in front of the vessel.
Fisheries Department Canada said it later received a report and photographs of a dead whale near Grace Point on Monday, and it has not yet confirmed whether the animal is the same whale involved in the Oct. 18 strike.
Tasli Shaw, co-founder of Humpback Whales of the Salish Sea, said she received photos from a local resident and that the whale’s tail fluke was missing in the images.
Shaw said the dorsal fin was also not visible in the photo, but that she identified the humpback as Notcho, also known as BCX1700, based on its right pectoral flipper.
The department said it is now working to locate the dead whale, and that its staff are also working to identify the animal and make “arrangements … to conduct a necropsy, if feasible,” to determine the cause of death and gather additional information.
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