Hamptons Had One of Two Dead Whales Found in NY in Three Days

A 26-foot minke whale washed up dead on Mecox Beach in Southampton on May 1, three days before another dead whale was found off Brooklyn, according to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.

The Hampton Bays-based nonprofit agency that responded to both scenes reported that the adult female whale’s necropsy found it was in an advanced state of decomposition and a cause of death was not able to be determined.

“Initial findings showed that there was no evidence of blunt force trauma (an indication of vessel strike), and there were no lesions noted in the whale’s cardiovascular tissues that are consistent with the infectious disease that has been documented in other minke whales,” the agency said in a statement.

Tissue samples will be sent to a pathologist for further analysis, but results may take months, the group added.

The two cases follow a spate of whale deaths across the New York Metro area and East Coast that sparked debate among environmentalists over whether offshore wind farm construction could be a contributing factor, which developers and federal agencies have denied. Federal officials have been investigating an increase in mike whale deaths along the Atlantic coast since 2017. Minke whales are protected, but not endangered.

The whale found near the Port of Brooklyn was identified as a fin or sei whale, measuring approximately 30 to 50 feet long. It was caught on the bow of a cruise ship.

Officials with the Town of Southampton, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries New England/Mid-Atlantic assisted with the minke whale, which was buried on the beach following the examination.

AMCS urges the public to report all stranded marine mammals and sea turtles to the New York State Stranding Hotline at 631-369-9829. The public can also report sightings of healthy marine mammals and sea turtles in and around New York to sightings@amseas.org.