8th dead whale washes up on New Jersey/New York beach
đź”´ The dead whale washed up on the south shore of Long Island Monday morningđź”´ It is not clear if the whale is the same one that was spotted 12 miles east of LBI on Saturday nightđź”´ Crews will study the whale on Monday
A dead whale that washed up on a Long Island beach Monday morning is the 8th to wash up on a New Jersey or New York beach since December.
Andrea Ferreira of the NOAA Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office said the dead male humpback whale washed up on Lido Beach West off the south coast of Long Island off Rockaway Beach in Queens. The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society has sent a team to collect data and the NOAA will investigate the whale more thoroughly.
It is not clear if the whale is the same humpback that Ferreira said was spotted by a survey ship 12 miles east of Long Beach Island on Saturday night. WPG’s Harry Hurley reported that a drift analysis by NOAA Fisheries and the United States Coast Guard Delaware Bay Sector had the whale floating on LBI by Sunday.
Ferreira said the marine mammal stranding center has not seen the whale since the initial sighting.
Beached whales in New Jersey and New York in December and January
Beached whales in New Jersey and New York in December and January (Townsquare Media/NOAA) What’s to blame for the beached whales>
The beached whales have sparked debate among environmental groups about the role of the wind power industry.
On the one hand, blame Clean Ocean Action and other groups plus GOP Rep. Jeff Van Drew continued offshore wind energy activity and called for a pause until the issue could be studied.
“We’ve never heard of six whales washing up in 33 days,” said Cindy Zipf, executive director of Long Branch-based Clean Ocean Action during a Jan. 9 press conference. “We don’t know how many whales may have died abroad.”
On the other side are Gov. Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Association of Environmental Commissions, who say suggestions that the Garden State’s plan to build a large offshore wind farm has anything to do with the whale tragedies are unfortunate and misleading.
Jennifer Coffey, the commission’s executive director, said the wind companies now conducting scientific surveys on the coast have marine mammal observers on board and no whale attacks have been reported. The last two whales washed ashore had bruises on their heads, no doubt caused by collisions with shipping vessels.
Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at [email protected]
Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction to this story.
History of the M&M: How Every Amazing Color Came to Be
Even the colors themselves have a fascinating background.
New Jersey Goodwill stores will not accept these items
25 True Crime Locations: What Do They Look Like Today?
Find out below where 25 of the most notorious crimes in history took place – and what the locations are used for today. (If they were left standing.)
