Deceased 43-Foot Whale Washes Up on the Jersey Shore

A whale carcass, estimated to be about 50-tons, was discovered Tuesday evening on the shore of the Chadwick Beach area in Toms River, NJ.

Although the actual cause of death is unknown, it is likely that the whale was hit by a ship, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center based in Brigantine, NJ.

“It has been so chewed up,” said Bob Schoelkopf, director of the MMSC. “The sharks have really been tearing it up.”

The species was unidentifiable at first due to extreme deterioration of the body. It was initially assumed to be a humpback whale but now suspected to have been a sei whale.

The center staff was unable to retrieve the carcass from the water right away due to the risks of the surf and sharks that followed the mutilated body.

“It’s more important to get it off the beach because, at this point, it’s a health risk,” Schoelkopf said.

Schoelkopf claims this was likely the same whale spotted 13 miles outside of New York Harbor by a Norwegian cruise ship. The body drifted along currents and arrived in Ocean County.

In order to dispose of the body, the whale had to be cut up into pieces by the Toms River Department of Public Works and later buried in a dump.

The Balaenoptera borealis, known as the sei whale, is just one of six whale species that live off the coasts of New Jersey. All six whales, however, are on both the state and federal endangered species lists.

It is unknown just how many sei whales exist in U.S. waters. Reaching lengths of up to 62 feet and weighing as much as 100,000 pounds, they are the third largest whale species. They are dark gray in appearance with light gray bellies, with skin typically covered in small circular scars.

Just three months ago, a baby humpback whale was found dead on a sandbar off Long Beach Island, NJ. The cause of its death was undetermined.

There was no indication that this whale was struck by a boat although large ships are a common threat to migrating whales that pass through major shipping channels, according to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Just two weeks before the humpback whale’s body emerged, the carcass of a rare Blainville’s beaked whale was exposed in Island Beach State Park. This was the second time in over four decades that the body of one of these infrequent whales made an appearance on the Jersey shore.

“The Marine Mammal Stranding Center has responded to over 4,800 strandings of whales, dolphins, seals and sea turtles that have washed ashore, over the years throughout New Jersey,” according to the MMSC’s website.