Whale killed in NJ by vessel believed to have struck it.
BRIGANTINE, N.J. (AP) — Marine animal welfare officials say the most recent whale found dead on a New Jersey shoreline had apparently been struck by a vessel.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center said Sunday that preliminary results of a necropsy on the humpback whale that washed up Thursday on the North End Natural Area in Brigantine indicates that the animal had “blunt trauma injuries consistent with those from a vessel strike.”
“Injuries and hemorrhaging were observed on the head and thoracic region, as well as along the right side and the pectoral flipper,” the center said in a statement. “These findings will be confirmed through laboratory analysis in the coming weeks.”
According to the center, the whale measured in at 32 feet and 7 inches, and was approximately 12 tons in weight. The center stated that the whale appeared to be in good health judging from the thickness of its blubber.
“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 center said.
“Vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear are the largest known human threats to whales of all species,” the center 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.”
Brigantine, north of Atlantic City has been home to two more dead whales in the last week. This is in addition to seven other whale deaths in New Jersey and New York in the past month.
Some legislators have asked for a temporary halt in ocean floor preparation work for offshore wind project in the two states. New Jersey’s governor said he doesn’t agree with that idea. Most of New Jersey’s environmental groups called an association between the deaths and the offshore wind work “unfounded and premature.”
The center stated that there are large numbers of whales currently in the waters off New Jersey. They are likely attracted to small fish they eat, which are also attracting stripers and striped bass. Officials encouraged boaters not to travel faster than 10 knots and to keep an eye out on whales.