Dead Whale Found Near Martha's Vineyard

CAPE COD, MA — A North Atlantic right whale was found dead near Martha's Vineyard this week, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials said.

On the afternoon of Jan. 28, NOAA Fisheries was notified of the dead female whale near Joseph Sylvia State Beach on Martha's Vineyard.

NOAA Fisheries and the International Fund for Animal Welfare—an organization that responds to stranded marine mammals on Cape Cod and the South Shore of Massachusetts—will work closely with the Massachusetts Environmental Police and local responders on next steps, they said.

Those parties include the Edgartown Police, Wamapnoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

IFAW and the tribe were able to secure the whale, and a necropsy will be performed when weather conditions become more favorable, officials said.

Officials currently believe that the whale is a juvenile due to its size, but it cannot be identified at this time due to its position. However, preliminary observations indicate the presence of rope entangled near the whale’s tail.