Dead humpback whale washes ashore at Sandy Hook

A dead humpback whale has washed ashore at Sandy Hook, days after what appeared to be the same carcass was spotted floating off the Jersey Shore.

Marine Mammal Stranding Center Executive Director Bob Schoelkopf said the whale came ashore Tuesday night and the center has sent a team to examine potential cause of death.

A photo of a deceased whale, about two miles off the coast of Long Branch, was shared Sunday on social media by New Jersey resident Kris Black, captain of the charter boat Fish Stix.

The Asbury Park Press reported that other fishermen saw what appeared to be the same carcass, floating Monday between Monmouth Beach and Sandy Hook.

Since January 2016, elevated humpback whale mortalities have occurred along the Atlantic coast from Maine through Florida, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Before this, New Jersey has seen seven humpback whale deaths reported since 2016, two of them last year, according to NOAA stats.

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