Necropsy on young whale that washed up at Virginia Beach Oceanfront to be performed Monday
VIRGINIA BEACH — Recovery efforts were underway after a humpback whale was seen washed up Sunday morning at the Oceanfront.
About 200 people lined along the beach at 25th Street to watch the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Stranding Response Program team pull the whale farther up the beach. An area of about two blocks was closed for the recovery, which took a couple hours.
A forklift and a tractor were on standby, and ropes were attached to the whale to drag it forward. The whale, considered sub-adult, was brought up the shore to avoid high tide. The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center’s Stranding Response Program coordinates responses for marine mammals and sea turtles that come ashore in Virginia. Animals can be sick, injured, dead or entangled and unable to safely return to their natural habitat, so trained professionals examine each animal and determine the most humane course of action for each case.
Roy Fisher, a law enforcement officer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the whale was spotted floating near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, and its body washed up Sunday in Virginia Beach.
The stranding response team will perform a necropsy Monday to determine a cause of death, Fisher said. During the procedure, the stranding team will likely use a technique they call “peeling the banana,” in which they split the whale from mouth to tail, catalog and take samples. The samples help researchers determine the mammal’s diet, the health of its organs and potential cause of death.
Humpback whales pass through the Mid-Atlantic waters as part of their annual migration. The whales travel to the Caribbean in the winter, where they breed and give birth, then head back toward New England for the spring and summer to feed.
Last year, a humpback whale washed up near First Landing State Park, and it was the 27th humpback whale since 2016 to wash ashore in Virginia. The whale was buried on the beach after its necropsy. Just a week later, a 43-foot North Atlantic right whale washed ashore near Aeires on the Bay Park.
Humpbacks and right whales have been experiencing significant die-offs — unusual mortality events — on the East Coast since 2017, according to NOAA. Vessel strikes and getting tangled in fishing nets are two leading causes of death. According to NOAA, only about a third of whale deaths are documented.
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
