A humpback whale was found dead off the coast of Long Beach Island over the weekend, and erosion from the recent nor’easter has impeded access to the surrounding area, delaying the Marine Mammal Stranding Center from being able to remove the animal and perform a necropsy. 

Jay Pagel, stranding coordinator for the Brigantine-based MMSC, said the whale was discovered beached on a sandbar off the west side of Holgate by the New Jersey Department of Environment Protection’s aerial survey team on Friday afternoon. Officials urged people to avoid the area, which is only accessible by boat. 

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MMSC said the whale was a young humpback that was around 29 feet in length and extremely underweight. It sustained wounds that resembled propellor blade strikes and was deemed unlikely to survive. 

“We found the animal still alive, but very lethargic and unresponsive,” Pagel said. “We don’t know what happened. It could have been disease-related. … So [people] should keep their distance.” 

While the rescue team wanted to relocate the animal, the tides at that time and erosion of nearby beaches severely impacted removal efforts. 

“Normally what we would do is have it towed around to the front beach and then drag it up to the sand and then we would bury it,” Pagel said. “In this particular case, that’s not an option because all the beaches were damaged.” 

On Saturday evening, the team administered sedatives to the whales to ease its discomfort overnight, and Sea Tow Atlantic City found the whale dead Sunday morning.

“Right now, we’re working on a plan to get the animal off the beach and off to a necropsy,” Pagel said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to do that in the next couple of days. … It’s a huge investigation trying to pinpoint exactly when and where this animal got injured.”

Updates on the investigation into the whale’s condition and death will be updated on MMSC’s social media pages and website.Â