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Video: Dead Fin Whale Towed Out To Sea

Dead Fin Whale Towed Out To Sea
Video: Dead Fin Whale Towed Out To Sea
A dead fin whale that wash ashore in Point Loma on Nov. 19 was towed out to sea on Friday.

A dead fin whale that wash ashore near Point Loma on Nov. 19 was towed out to sea on Friday. Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin, has donated the resources to sink the fin whale.

Siri Hakala with NOAA said the necropsy on the dead 67-foot fin whale shows whale died from a ship strike.

Branson intends to document the decomposition of the whale, and possibly offer submarine tours of the carcass in the future, according to MSNBC.

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"We'll have the Virgin Oceanic ship right in the middle of the bay off Fiesta Island. We're going to work with Parks and Recreation and San Diego Lifeguards to get the whale off of the beach using tractors and other means," said Eddie Kisfaludy, with Virgin Oceanic. "We'll put the whale in the middle of the bay, hook into it using our ship, take it offshore and add weight to the whale until it sinks."

Kisfaludy said Virgin Oceanic is donating the ship and fuel cost to the effort.

He said the ship is a 25-foot catamaran (once sailed around the world by Steve Fossett) which has been converted into a support ship for marine research.