A whale that was found dead on a New Jersey beach last week was likely struck by a vessel, investigators determined.
The investigators found injuries and hemorrhaging on the whale’s head and thoracic region as well as along the right side and the pectoral flipper. “Blubber thickness indicated that the whale was in good condition,” Madisen Young, an administrative assistant with the MMSC, said. “The whale’s stomach was full of partially digested fish and there was fecal matter in the intestines, indicating the whale had been actively feeding prior to these injuries.
The massive marine mammal was one of four humpback whales found dead along the New Jersey coast since December 10, 2022.Other dead whales have also turned up in coastal areas of New Jersey and New York. Scientists say there has been an increase in whale sightings closer to the coast over the past several years.
“That also happened to coincide with an increase in the number of animals that we’ve seen washing up on our shores,” Rob DiGiovanni, of the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, told NBC10. Environmental advocates and other groups want to know if offshore work related to planned ocean wind farms has anything to do with the whale deaths. In a letter, they called on President Joe Biden to launch an investigation.
"Vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear are the largest known human threats to whales of all species,” Young said. “Although there has been speculation about whether these whale deaths are linked to wind energy development, at this point no whale mortality has been attributed to offshore wind activities. We will continue to gather data and go where the science leads us.
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