Dead Female Whale Removed From Manasquan Beach, Necropsy Is Next

MANASQUAN, NJ – This was the scene Tuesday morning as an entire network of state and federal agencies worked to remove the dead humpback whale that washed up on Manasquan Inlet beach.

And still, debate raged over what exactly is causing the unusually high number of whale deaths — and whether the aggressive construction of wind turbines off the Jersey Shore is to blame.

The humpback that washed up Monday has been identified as a juvenile female, about 35 feet long. She is the ninth dead whale to wash ashore in New Jersey, since early December.

Congressman Chris Smith (R-Manchester) said Tuesday in light of this most recent whale death, he has renewed his call for Gov. Phil Murphy to halt all wind turbine construction off the New Jersey coast. To build the turbines, crews use seismic sonar testing that bounces off the ocean floor. Some speculate that could be hurting the whales.

“How many more whales have to die before there is a serious and thorough investigation into the cause of these deaths?” asked the Republican Jersey Shore congressman.

“The Biden administration and Gov. Murphy continue to ignore the resounding calls for an investigation to address the historic surge of dead whales — while offshore wind development ramps up off our beaches," said Smith. “As I stated in my January 30 letters to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the lack of conclusive evidence disproving the link between offshore wind development and whale deaths is sufficient to require a pause."

In other words, what Congressman Smith is saying is that because nothing has been found that disproves the wind turbines and sonar sounding are causing the whale deaths, it is still reckless to continue the seismic testing necessary to construct the wind turbines.

Despite the whale deaths, Murphy has made no sign of backing down his offshore wind farm goal, saying Wednesday in a speech at Rutgers: "We are leaning into offshore wind with one of the nation’s most-ambitious programs. We set a goal of achieving a 100-percent clean energy economy by 2050."

Top federal agency NOAA says it's aware of increased whale deaths, but still does not know cause

Dead whales have washed up on New Jersey beaches in the past, but both the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and ocean advocacy groups have said 2022/23 has seen an unusually high number of dead whales washing ashore in New York and New Jersey.

NOAA announced in mid January that they have been monitoring what they call "an unusual mortality event" among humpback whales along the Atlantic Coast from 2016 to 2023.

"Since January 2016, elevated humpback whale mortalities have occurred along the Atlantic coast from Maine through Florida," said NOAA, which is the top federal agency for monitoring America's oceans and marine life. Read their latest report on the New Jersey whale deaths here: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov...

However, NOAA also says that ship strikes are the most common cause of whale deaths, and major Eastern Seaboard shipping lanes run right off the Jersey Shore.

"A portion of the whales have shown evidence of pre-mortem vessel strike," said NOAA. "However, this finding is not consistent across all whales examined. More research is needed."

They also said that the unusually high number of humpback whale deaths started in 2016. Construction on the first set of wind turbines off the Jersey Shore did not begin until 2019/2020.

The Monmouth County Department of Public Works and Engineering was on hand Tuesday morning to help remove the whale carcass, as were NOAA employees, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the town of Manasquan.

Marine Mammal Stranding Center employees told TIME magazine this week that people have stormed their office, demanding to know why the whales are dying. Employees at the tiny Brigantine-based animal rescue center said that some members of the public have threatened violence and they've received harassing phone calls; staff members are concerned for their safety.

Necropsy teams from Marine Mammal Stranding Center and the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society will next do a necropsy to determine what exactly caused the young female to die.

The decision was made to move the whale to an unnamed Monmouth County-owned facility for examination and tissue sampling. Necropsy teams will have access to heavy equipment and resources that will enable a complete examination.

If you come across a marine mammal in distress on Jersey Shore beaches, please contact the Greater Atlantic Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline at 866-755-6622.