Humpback Whale That Washed Ashore on New Jersey Beach Was Struck By Ship: NOAA

Officials said a dead whale that washed ashore in New Jersey had been hit by a ship, but it was still not clear how the massive mammal died.

According to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, a humpback whale washed up along the Jersey Shore in Manasquan Monday afternoon. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducted a necropsy and reported the results Wednesday, stating evidence showed that a vessel had struck the whale at some point.

Experts will work to figure out if the 35-foot female was hit before for after it died. NOAA said that at least six humpbacks have washed up along the Jersey Shore since Dec. 1, 2022.

In January, a humpback whale washed ashore on a New York beach after it was likely killed by a vessel, NOAA officials said.

In that case, it was a male named Luna that was more than 40 years old and had been tracked by marine biologists for decades, said NOAA.

The whale was discovered at Lido Beach West Town Park on Long Island and was hauled up to the beach with a crane.

News 4’s Greg Cergol reports.

Officials said that whale’s level of decomposition indicated that it had died several days before washing ashore, contradicting early reports that the animal had beached itself while it was alive.

The whale was about 41 feet long and weighed 29,000 pounds, the officials said.

NOAA, which is responsible for the nation’s oceans and fisheries, says 19 humpback whales were stranded in 2022 along the U.S. Atlantic coast. During the first month of this year, there were seven whales beached from Maine to Florida.