Young humpback whale dies after becoming beached in Long Beach Island, New Jersey

Another whale has died after becoming beached on the coast of the Jersey Shore, according to officials with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. 

The agency says they received a report from the New Jersey Department of Environmental at 3:00 p.m. on Friday that their aerial survey team spotted the whale on the southern end of Long Beach Island. The Coast Guard, who was on a routine helicopter flight, was able to divert and locate the whale just before sunset. They were able to determine that the whale beached on a sandbar, and was only able to be accessed by boat.

Due to tidal conditions and the whale being located late in the day, members of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center and the New Jersey State Police Marine unit were not able to access the whale until Saturday morning. Once they arrived on scene the whale was identified as a young humpback measuring at 29 feet in length. When the team examined the whale further they found that the mammal was lethargic and in “very thin” body condition. They also found wounds from an apparent propeller strike. Their final prognosis was the whale’s health was “extremely poor” and was unlikely to survive.

Due to the incoming tide on Saturday and the lack of daylight, officials from the stranding center administered sedatives to keep the whale comfortable overnight until operations could continue the next morning in the daylight and at low tide. When they arrived back the next morning along with operators from Sea Tow of Atlantic City, they discovered the mammal had passed away sometime in the overnight hours.

The whale was first seen in the New York Bight on October 2nd by American Princess Cruises. At that time, it was evident that the young whale had experienced significant trauma due to propeller strikes that were still in the process of healing, and the wounds were impacting the animal’s ability to feed based on the very thin body condition.

Additional information will be shared as it becomes available on the Marine Mammal Stranding Center’s website.