Featured Image Credit: Sea Isle Police Department
Sea Isle City, NJ residents were shocked to find a 33-foot humpback whale washed ashore last Friday afternoon. Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) officials believe that the juvenile whale had been dead for about four to five days. It’s highly likely that “human interaction” was the cause of death. Scarring on the whale’s body indicated that it was tangled up in commercial fishing lines at some point and another observation led officials to believe that the whale was also hit by a boat after death.
Hundreds of beach-goers and city residents stopped by the beach to check out the site for themselves. The crowd felt a mix of emotions ranging from utter sadness to pure amazement.
One day later and eight feet below, the humpback whale will now live on as “apart of the 20th street dunes.”
Bob Schoelkopf, MMSC founding director, noted that beachings are relatively rare with about 2 occurrences in New Jersey each year.