Cape May County Man Charged With Shooting Pilot Whale off New Jersey Coast

A Cape May County man has been charged with shooting at pilot whales off the New Jersey coast after surrendering to U.S. Marshals, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced on Thursday.

Daniel Archibald, 27, of Cape May, is charged with one count of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act. He was released on $10,000 unsecured bond, with travel restricted to the United States, except for fishing in international waters following his first court appearance in Newark Thursday afternoon.

He is required to surrender all firearms and firearms purchaser identification cards and is prohibited from using or possessing a firearm on land or sea.

Archibald, a tuna fisherman, allegedly shot at pilot whales while aboard the fishing vessel “Capt Bob,” according to the complaint unsealed on Thursday.

Pilot whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, a statute that prohibits the hunting, killing, capture or harassment of any marine mammal. Harassment under the statute includes any act of pursuit, torment or annoyance that has the potential to injure a marine mammal in the wild.

On Sept. 24, 2011, an 11-foot, 740-pound pilot whale beached itself in Allenhurst, Monmouth County, and died shortly thereafter. A necropsy revealed that a .30 caliber bullet lodged in the whale’s jaw triggered an extensive infection that caused the whale to starve to death a month later.

Law enforcement officials were able to determine that the Capt. Bob was in New Jersey fishing waters for much of August of 2011, the approximate time that the whale was shot.

Additionally, Archibald allegedly posted a Facebook photograph of a tuna head on a hook with the caption “thanks a lot pilot whales.”

Special agents eventually searched the Capt Bob and found a Mosin-Nagant, a World War II rifle that has not been manufactured in several decades.

Forensic analysis revealed that the bullet found in the whale was similar in all general rifling characteristics to test bullets fired from Archibald’s rifle.

Archibald admitted that he had “sprayed” bullets at pilot whales in an effort to chase them away.

Archibald faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a statutory maximum fine of $100,000 or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense.