LONG BEACH, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — A deceased humpback whale was stranded on the shore in Long Island’s Long Beach, and a massive response by government and conservation agencies was underway Monday as officials investigated the animal’s death.
A team from the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMSEAS) will perform a necropsy on the whale to discover more about its death. The group is working in tandem with the City of Long Beach, Town of Hempstead, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and NOAA Fisheries.
Dozens of Long Islanders flocked to see the massive whale carcass, which is estimated to be about 30 feet long, as authorities began to chop up the whale’s body in order to remove it from the shore.
“I mean, it’s huge. You can certainly smell it and there’s kind of organs and parts all over,” one man told 1010 WINS. “It’s kind of disgusting now … it’s a huge mess, what’s left now.”
Raymond, who has lived in Long Beach all his life, told 1010 WINS that he’d seen the whale before and it's never easy to see a stranded animal.
“At first it looked pretty beautiful, and then once they started chopping [it] up, [it] didn't look so good anymore,” he said. “About 30 feet I’d say, this is probably the third or fourth time that I’ve seen it down here.”
The discovery comes two days after AMSEAS said it was working with the Town of Oyster Bay Marine Patrol to manage a deceased minke whale that was observed at Tobay Beach, just up the coast from Long Beach.
On Monday, the conservation group said the minke whale was now stranded at Sore Thumb Beach in Babylon, leaving NYS Parks and NYSDEC conservation officers to assess the situation and determine what response is possible.
According to ongoing investigations by NOAA Fisheries into unusual mortality events for large whales in the North Atlantic prompted by elevated whale mortalities, there have been 45 deceased humpback whales observed in New York State since January 2016, and 29 deceased minke whales since January 2017.
Anyone who comes across a sick, injured or dead whale, dolphin, seal or sea turtle is asked to report the animal to the NYS Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Hotline at 631-369-9829.