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The 22-foot minke whale was seen swimming a mile from an inlet before sundown on Tuesday, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said on Facebook on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
The stranding center (MMSC) was notified about the whale on Sunday, Oct. 1. It was stranded on a sandbar in shallow water near Conklin Island in Barnegat Bay. With help from the New Jersey State Police Marine Unit and Sea Tow, MMSC’s stranding team was able to free the whale from the sandbar. The whale was seen swimming towards the open water of the channel at sunset.
The following morning on Monday, Oct. 2, the MMSC was back on the scene with the assistance of State Police after the whale was found re-stranded by the Ocean County Mosquito Commission. The whale was in two feet of water on the southwest side of Clam Island. MMSC’s Stranding Coordinator was able to walk the whale ¾ mile into deeper water.
On Tuesday morning Oct. 3, the MMSC returned to the scene with New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Conservation Officers to locate the animal. The whale was observed resting in shallow water. As the tide started to come in, the whale began moving out of the shallows and swam northwest towards the middle of the bay. The US Coast Guard assisted MMSC with monitoring the whale. The last sighting of the minke whale was just before dusk, swimming approximately one mile from the inlet on an outgoing tide, authorities said.
Minke whales are a federally protected species according to the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
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