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First Dead Whale Of 2024 Washes Up Along Jersey Shore

A dead whale has washed up along the Jersey Shore for the first time in 2024, according to a marine animal rehabilitation center.

A dead humpback whale found along the shore in Long Beach, NJ, on Thursday, Apr. 11, 2024.

A dead humpback whale found along the shore in Long Beach, NJ, on Thursday, Apr. 11, 2024.

Photo Credit: Facebook - Marine Mammal Stranding Center

The Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC) received a report about a humpback whale found in the surf near 51st Street in Long Beach at around 6:45 a.m. on Thursday, Apr. 11. In a Facebook post, MMSC said the whale was estimated to be about 20 to 30 feet long.

This whale is the first one MMSC has found dead along the Jersey Shore since Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023. According to the Brigantine group's stranding data, a minke whale was found near Leonardo State Marina in Middletown and an autopsy said the whale had signs of an infectious disease in several organs.

There were 14 dead whales found on the Jersey coast in 2023. Eight of those had already been discovered by MMSC by Tuesday, Apr. 11, 2023.

MMSC also said 16 dead dolphins and porpoises have washed up along the Jersey Shore so far in 2024. That's compared to 32 found in 2023.

MMSC staff members were responding to the dead humpback whale and Long Beach Township police were helping at the scene.

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