50-foot whale found dead in Newark Bay moved to NY Harbor as experts plan recovery and necropsy
Officials said there are still several logistical obstacles, including securing a landing site, incoming weather, transporting the animal and obtaining the heavy equipment needed to examine it.
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Marine stranding experts are working to remove a dead whale found floating in Newark Bay, and officials now say the animal is about 50 feet long and appears to be either a Fin or Sei whale.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center said it received a report on April 9 of a dead whale in Newark Bay. The US Army Corps of Engineers then helped secure the whale to prevent it from becoming a navigational hazard and moved it to a staging location in New York Harbor while a response plan is finalized, the Stranding Center said in a social media post.
On Friday morning, Marine Mammal Stranding Center staff boarded a vessel with assistance from the Army Corps of Engineers to photograph the whale and collect initial tissue samples.
The Center and the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society are working with local, state and federal agencies to develop a recovery plan and identify a suitable location to tow the whale for examination.
A more in-depth exam is still needed to confirm the species and conduct a necropsy.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center previously said, “Both organizations are currently assembling a team to facilitate the necropsy. Our teams will be in the field working on this active situation.”
Officials said there are still several logistical obstacles, including securing a landing site, incoming weather, transporting the animal and obtaining the heavy equipment needed to examine it.
Additional information is expected to be shared by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center as it becomes available.
