BRIGANTINE, NJ – Officials from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center took the opportunity to investigate a beached dead whale in Brigantine during a period of low tide Friday afternoon.
Unable to do so earlier, the MMSC was able to dig out portions of the whale buried in the sand to obtain accurate measurements and to take skin and blubber samples for post-mortem analysis,
“As part of the exam, measurements were taken on 19 different points of the whale’s body. Staff was able to dig out the majority of the fluke (tail) from the sand to obtain a total body length of 32 feet seven inches,” the MMSC said today. “At this length the whale is classified as a sub-adult. The whale was sexed as a female. Skin and blubber samples were obtained to be submitted for pathology.”
At this time, it is unknown what is causing the deaths of so many whales in the past five weeks at the Jersey Shore. In total, seven have been accounted for.
Some believe it may be linked to the offshore wind farm project off the coast of the Jersey Shore in the region.
Read more about that here: Murphy says no to stoppage of offshore work after 7 dead whales wash ashore in just over a month