Dead Humpback Whale Floating In Raritan Bay, Another Off Long Island

RARITAN BAY, NJ — There is a dead humpback whale currently floating in Raritan Bay, according to eyewitnesses and the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, the non-profit agency that removes dead whale and dolphin carcasses that wash up in New Jersey.

The dead whale is still floating in Raritan Bay as of Thursday, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. NJ.com has a photo of the whale. They also said there is second dead humpback floating off Wainscott, NY on Long Island.

A man who lives in the Leonardo section of Middletown, and runs a fishing charter, was the first to see the whale, and he posted photos of it to his Facebook page at 10 a.m. and again at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

"Dead whale is at. 40 30 100 /74 06 509. Drifting NNE," he posted at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

"Biologists across multiple organizations are currently assessing their resources to respond," said the Marine Mammal Stranding Center Thursday. "New Jersey Fish & Wildlife Service are partnered in the efforts to relocate and respond to these whales as well."

This now makes 11 whales — mostly humpbacks — that have washed ashore on New Jersey beaches or been found dead floating in the water off New Jersey since Dec. 1, 2022, according to various media accounts and the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. (Higher numbers are reported by different groups elsewhere, and may likely include whales that washed up prior to December 2022.)

The federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared that New Jersey has seen higher-than-normal number of humpback whales deaths since 2015, and they classified it "an Unusual Mortality Event (UME)."

But the federal government says they still do not know what's causing the increase in whale deaths.

There have also now been 25 dead dolphins that washed ashore in New Jersey so far in 2023. Marine Mammal Stranding Center Director Sheila Dean said in April it was "an unusually high" number of dolphin deaths.

Some elected officials in New Jersey, nearly all of them Republicans, are calling for Gov. Phil Murphy to issue a pause or moratorium on the sonar surveying that is currently being used to build hundreds of wind turbines 10-15 miles off the Jersey Shore. No Democrat has joined their calls.

No direct link has been found between the increase in whale and dolphin deaths and the use of sonar mapping.

"Something has to be done to address the growing number of marine life deaths — starting with a halt to all work related to the wind turbine project," said Middletown Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (Republican) in response to this latest whale seen floating in Raritan Bay.