Here’s What Killed The Whale That Washed Up In Long Branch
The necropsy results are in from the dead humpback whale that washed ashore in Long Branch earlier this month. So, what killed the whale? It was hit by a boat. The remains of the animal washed up on Takanassee Beach on the southern end of the beach in Long Branch (not far from a local favorite surfing spot) on August 12th. Another dead whale tragedy followed a string of whales washing up on our beaches or seen floating in the Raritan Bay or out in the Atlantic Ocean. A confusing and heartbreaking time for many people up and down the Jersey Shore.
The report from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center on the blog section of their website states that this particular whale was observed in the ocean with a severed tail in 2022. It managed to survive that injury but was killed weeks ago by blunt force trauma. So, that means it was hit by a boat not once, but TWICE.
Struck by a boat: TWICE.
Opinion:
These deaths are tragic and we all want to find out why they’re happening. These whales are majestic creatures and they’re super cool to see off our beaches.
A lot of people want to tie the marine deaths to the wind project off the coast of Atlantic City. I don’t see a single post on the MMSC blog that attributes a whale death to that wind project, however lots of the whale deaths have been linked to being hit by big boats out at sea. Not just this whale died of blunt force trauma from being hit by a boat, as this list from the Asbury Park Press details.
It’s a fact, however, that some of the whale deaths aren’t solved. And sure, we could speculate that perhaps the sonar mapping sounds may mess up the whales’ abilities to “hear” large boats coming their way. I, for one, would appreciate hearing more from marine mammal experts on that topic.
We’ve seen lots of protests and speeches from local wind-bag (pun intended) politicians about that wind project off the shore of Atlantic City but I don’t recall a single protest calling for an end to the giant boats out in the shipping channel. Not a single protest about, “Stop Ordering Stuff From Amazon That Has To Arrive Here By Boat”, or “Close New York Harbor Now”. You’d think that you’d see a few protests like that, seeing how the boat strikes are a direct result for so many of these deaths.
Now would be an good time to note that, according to multiple sources, the New York/New Jersey harbor has become the busiest harbor in the nation.
Facts and emotions are often inconsiderate of each other, aren’t they? But, then again, maybe not. As it turns out, what killed the whale in Long Branch was a boat.
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