A heavily decomposed whale carcass has been drifting in the surf near Long Beach Island.
According to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, the whale, suspected to be a female fin whale, was reported Monday morning in the surf at 11th Street in Barnegat Light.
The center’s coordinator monitored its movement throughout the day and worked with local, state, and federal agencies on a recovery plan.
The whale has continued drifting north in the surf and was most recently just south of the jetty, the center said. The carcass is heavily decomposed and scavenged, with parts of the body beginning to break apart in the surf.
Marine Mammal Stranding CenterMarine Mammal Stranding Center
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center first received a report about the whale at 10:20 a.m. Sunday when a boater spotted it floating about 1.5 miles off the coast of Long Beach Island.
The U.S. Coast Guard provided a drift analysis estimating that the whale would continue moving north and east toward shore. The center received several reports from observers throughout Sunday that helped track the carcass.
Just before sunset Sunday, the whale was reported several hundred yards offshore in Surf City, drifting north outside the breakers. By 8 a.m. Monday, the center said it had reached the surf near 11th Street in Barnegat Light.
Marine mammals are federally protected, the center said. Anyone who finds parts of the whale or any other marine mammal is asked not to touch or collect them.
Sightings should be reported immediately to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center’s 24-hour Stranding Hotline at 609-266-0538.