SEWARD — A pregnant fin whale was discovered dead on the bow of a cruise ship that docked in Seward, Alaska, on Friday. Federal stewards reported the incident, stating the whale was found on the bulbous bow of a cruise ship arriving in the port.

The whale, measuring 61 feet long, was towed to a nearby beach in Seward. NOAA Fisheries began collaborating with the Alaska SeaLife Center to perform a necropsy on the adult female whale. The examination indicated that the whale was pregnant.

NOAA Fisheries Alaska issued a directive to the public regarding the examination site. "Please stay off the beach at the necropsy site for your safety and to allow space for the team to perform the examination and collect samples," the federal agency branch said in a Facebook post. The agency further stated, "It is illegal for anyone to collect tissue, baleen or any part of the whale, unless you are an Alaska Native collecting tissue or parts for subsistence or use in handicrafts."

The law enforcement office of NOAA Fisheries has initiated an investigation into the fin whale's death. The agency requested that anyone with information contact its 24-hour hotline.

Fin whales are an endangered species and are the second-largest whale species on Earth, according to NOAA Fisheries. Their population became endangered following the rise of modern whaling methods in the mid-20th century. During that period, the hunting industry killed nearly 725,000 fin whales in the Southern Hemisphere. NOAA Fisheries stated that commercial whaling no longer poses a risk to the survival of fin whales, while conservationists indicate that vessel strikes constitute the most serious threat to the species.