Survey ship strikes, kills a blue whale off California (PHOTO)

(FORT BRAGG, Calif.) — A survey ship struck and killed a 70-foot blue whale that washed up on a northern California beach, National Geographic reported. The ship was mapping the ocean bottom for a fisheries agency when its crew felt the vessel shudder and later saw a whale surface, bleeding profusely. It’s the second fatal ship strike of a blue whale off California this year.
 
Click here to view the magazine’s story and a photo.
By Professional Mariner Staff