Dead Humpback Whale Found Floating Off Suffolk Coast

MONTAUK, NY — A deceased humpback whale was found floating about six miles off the coast of Montauk Friday, the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society said.

The whale was reported around 9 a.m. by the U.S. Coast Guard; AMSEAS worked with USCG, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, and the Town of East Hampton on a response plan.

Due to current conditions in the ocean and the location of the whale, the team decided the best course of action was to place a location tag on the carcass and track its movements. As of Friday afternoon, the whale was currently 4.5 miles offshore near Montauk and was fairly decomposed, which would make towing a lengthy and difficult process, AMSEAS said.

A necropsy examination is not planned. AMSEAS said it will be tracking the data collected from the tag to determine what the next steps of the response may be.

The incident marks AMSEAS’s sixth large whale stranding of 2020 — and the fourth humpback whale on Long Island. There has been an unusual mortality event in effect for humpback whales along the Atlantic coast since 2016, AMSEAS said.

Boaters should be on the lookout for this whale and other marine animals using our waters. The public is encouraged to report sightings of this animal and any other marine animals that are in distress, stranded, or floating dead to the NYS Stranding Hotline at 631-369-9829.