AMSEAS Assists in Stranding Response for a Deceased North Atlantic Right Whale in New Jersey

On June 25, 2020, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries received a report of a deceased North Atlantic right whale floating off the coast of Elberon, New Jersey. Along with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC), the Center for Coastal Studies, Virginia Aquarium, and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), AMSEAS assisted NOAA Fisheries in the stranding response plan. The whale had initially been reported as drifting north, heading through shipping lanes to New York. This is the first observed right whale death in U.S. waters in 2020.

NOAA Fisheries: Right whale #3560 with her calf off Georgia in December 2019. Photo courtesy of Georgia DNR/CMARI Aerial Survey

An unusual mortality event has been in effect for North Atlantic right whales since 2017, during which 31 whales (including this one) have been found dead in U.S. and Canadian waters, and an additional 10 live, seriously injured whales have been documented, bringing the current total number of animals in the UME to 41. North Atlantic right whales are endangered, with only about 400 remaining, of which only about 95 are breeding females. This particular whale has been identified as the male calf of North Atlantic right whale #3560 (unnamed).

On June 27, 2020, the necropsy examination took place in New Jersey. The team found evidence of two separate vessel strikes. “The whale had several propeller wounds across the head and chest, and a likely skeg or rudder injury on the back that may have occurred at the same time. Based on observed evidence of healing, those wounds were likely several weeks old, but were serious enough that they may have significantly impaired the whale. The second vessel collision resulted in a series of propeller wounds and a skeg or rudder wound across the tail stock. Evaluation of these wounds suggests they were inflicted shortly before the animal died and were likely the cause of death,” NOAA Fisheries stated in a press release.

For the full story on this stranding, please visit NOAA Fisheries’ website at bit.ly/narwnj2020.

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