An endangered fin whale was found dead this week — impaled on the bow of a cargo ship docked in Gloucester City, New Jersey.

The 30-foot whale, a member of a species still struggling to recover after being hunted to the brink of extinction, was discovered at the Gloucester Marine Terminal by the U.S. Coast Guard. The sight was horrifying. And yet, this is not a rare event.

Ship strikes are one of the leading causes of death for large whales, including fin whales, along the Atlantic coast. These giants of the sea — second in size only to blue whales — often swim near commercial shipping lanes. Without stricter protections and mandatory ship speed limits in sensitive habitats, they remain at deadly risk.

This animal's death was not an accident. It was the result of policy failure.

We’re calling on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Coast Guard to fully investigate this incident and publicly release the ship’s identity, route, and compliance with speed and whale-protection regulations.

If violations occurred, appropriate penalties must follow.

More importantly, we demand:

• Expanded mandatory slow zones along the East Coast, especially near known whale migration routes and feeding areas
• Real-time monitoring and rerouting protocols to avoid areas where whales are active
• Stronger penalties for violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act
• Transparency when protected species are harmed by commercial activity.

Fin whales are magnificent, intelligent beings who play a crucial role in ocean ecosystems. They are not collateral damage. If the shipping industry cannot operate without killing endangered species, it must be held accountable and forced to change.

Sign this petition to demand justice for the Gloucester whale — and real action to stop these preventable deaths.