What killed the humpback whale found in Raritan Bay revealed by scientists

Staff report
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The deceased humpback whale that was found adrift in Raritan Bay last week was a 28-foot-long female who appears to have died from blunt and sharp force trauma consistent with a vessel strike, according to preliminary results from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The whale, who was discovered in the waters off Keansburg Wednesday, was found to have had bruises, lacerations and fractures in several places across its body, including fractures on its skull and left pectoral fin, which had been severed, according to preliminary results from a necropsy Friday, said NOAA spokesperson Andrea Gomez.

The dead whale was buried on the beach at Sandy Hook, after it was towed Thursday from Raritan Bay to Gateway National Recreation Area by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the NJ Fish and Wildlife Service, she said.

Stranded humpback whale at Sandy Hook.
Stranded humpback whale at Sandy Hook.

The whale was the 11th to strand in New Jersey since Dec. 1, but the first since a severely decomposed pygmy whale washed up in Ocean City on March 28.

It was also one of two humpback whales that were found deceased off the East Coast last week. A dead humpback whale was also discovered in Shinnecock Inlet off Wainscott, N.Y., and was brought to shore in Hampton Bays, Southampton, N.Y., Gomez said.

Related: Murphy to use $2 million in offshore wind funds on whale detection, seal studies

A necropsy also done Friday revealed that this 47-foot-long male whale appeared to have died from suspected blunt force trauma, Gomez said. Although the carcass was heavily decomposed, scientists observed bruising in the blubber and muscles on both sides of the head, she said. That whale was then buried on the beach.

Although both whales were discovered last week, Gomez said the strandings were likely not related, given their different levels of decomposition.

The necropsies were performed by NOAA’s stranding network partners, Atlantic Marine Conservation Society and the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, Gomez said. Samples from both whales were taken for further analysis.

From December 1, 2022, through Monday, there have been 46 large whale strandings along the U.S. Atlantic coast, Gomez said, including:

  • 29 humpback whales between Massachusetts and North Carolina;

  • Four sperm whales between New York and Florida;

  • Two North Atlantic right whales in North Carolina and Virginia;

  • One sei whale in North Carolina;

  • Nine minke whales between Maine and New York; and

  • One fin whale in Virginia.

The cause of the whale deaths have sparked a sharp political debate. Advocates such as the environmental organization Clean Ocean Action and numerous New Jersey politicians have called for thorough investigations into the whales' deaths and a moratorium on offshore wind development activity off New Jersey until a cause of the strandings is determined.

Some opponents to the offshore wind farms blamed the activities of the survey boats, such as sounding the ocean floor, as the source of the injuries to the whales. Federal and state authorities such as NOAA, Gov. Phil Murphy and the state Department of Environmental Protection, however, have said there is no link between the wind farm activities and the whale deaths.

Staff writer Dan Radel contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Humpback whale found in Raritan Bay cause of death revealed