Early Thursday morning around 6:45am, a deceased humpback whale was found washed ashore in the surf along the 51st Street beach in Long Beach Township, New Jersey, as reported by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center based in Brigantine.
This grim incident marks the first recorded mammal fatality on the Jersey Shore this year, according to data compiled by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. Just last year, the center logged nine humpback whale strandings, with four more in 2022.
As authorities and marine experts converge on the site Thursday morning, initial reports from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center indicate the whale measures between 20 to 30 feet in length.
Meanwhile, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries division has raised the alarm over a troubling trend: a sharp uptick in humpback whale mortalities across the Atlantic Ocean. Since 2016, the agency has documented a staggering 218 carcasses.
As the investigation unfolds, the heart-wrenching fate of this humpback whale serves as a reminder of the fragility of marine life and the urgent need for continued conservation efforts to protect our oceans’ treasures.
We will update this story as more information becomes available.
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