Skip to content
Local
  • North Fork
    • Jamesport
    • Mattituck
    • Orient
    • Riverhead
    • Shelter Island
    • Southold
  • The Hamptons
    • Montauk
    • Quogue
    • Sag Harbor
    • Sagaponack
    • Southampton
    • Water Mill
    • Westhampton Beach
  • Home Pros
  • Digital Editions
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
Dan’s Papers
  • Things to Do

    Events Calendar

    View and Post Events

    • Books & Authors
    • Community
    • Events & Entertainment
    • Fairs & Festivals
    • Film & TV
    • Fitness & Outdoors
    • Food & Drink
    • Galleries & Museums
    • Kids & Families
    • LGBTQ+
    • Nonprofits & Philanthropy
    • Performing Arts
    • Pets & Animals
    • Seasonal
    • Shopping
    • Virtual

    Dan’s Events

    Visit Dan’s Taste

  • Arts & Culture
    • Artist Profiles
    • Books & Authors
    • Galleries & Museums
    • Performing Arts
    • Music, Film & TV
  • Food & Drink
    • Recipes
    • Restaurants
    • Bars, Breweries & Distilleries
    • Wine & Wineries
  • Celebrity News
  • Local News
    • Crime & Police
    • Politics
    • Health
    • Business
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Obituaries
  • Real Estate
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion & Style
    • Hotels & Inns
    • Kids & Family
    • Nonprofits & Philanthropy
    • Party & Event Photos
    • Wellness
Police & Fire

Whale Found in Shinnecock Bay Died of Blunt Force Trauma

By Timothy Bolger
3 minute 06/05/2023 Share
A dead humpback whale on the beach in Hampton Bays on June 2, 2023. (AMCS)
A dead humpback whale on the beach in Hampton Bays on June 2, 2023. (AMCS)

A 47-foot dead humpback whale that floated through the Shinnecock Inlet last Thursday was one of two that were found fatally struck by ships in New York and New Jersey last week, officials said.

Southampton Town Police marine units, Atlantic Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) marine biologists and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) officials responded to a report of a dead whale that floated into Shinnecock Bay shortly before 4 p.m. June 1, authorities said.

‘The whale was towed back to the ocean and secured to the beach near Hampton Bays, where experts with AMCS performed a necropsy before Suffolk County crews used heavy machinery to bury the carcass in the sand, officials said.

“While this carcass was heavily decomposed, scientists observed bruising in the blubber [and] muscle on both sides of the head,” NOAA stated, noting that the cause of death was blunt force trauma.

The whale was first spotted May 31 five miles off the coast of Wainscott, the same day that another dead whale was found in Raritan Bay between New Jersey and Staten Island. The Hamptons whale was found in the bay the following day and both whales were buried on Friday, June 2.

“While these whales were seen on the same day, their different levels of decomposition indicates that these strandings were not related,” NOAA stated. The New Jersey whale was also found to have died of blunt force trauma, lacerations and  severed fin “consistent with a ship strike,” the agency added.

The two humpback deaths are part of a spate of whale fatalities in the region. More than 30 dead whales have washed ashore along the East Coast so far this year, many of them in New Jersey and New York.

NOAA officials held a briefing in January to try to address claims by opponents of wind farms that the whale deaths might be linked to the offshore wind industry. The officials said there was no evidence implicating wind farm development in the deaths of any of the whales that had been examined by scientists.

-With Associated Press

  • Vetted Hamptons Resources

    Hamptons Classified 

    Access our trusted network of local professionals and browse employment opportunities in the Hamptons.
    Find a Home Pro Search Jobs
  • Most Recent Articles

    Sag Pizza pie

    Rebooted Hamptons Pizza Scene High on Thoughtful Pies

    placeholder

    $14.4M Palm Beach Townhome Sold for $2.35M More Than It Did 9 Months Ago

    Harriett Crippen Brown Gumbs, aka “Princess Starleaf,” founded Shinnecock’s first trading post business on Montauk Highway in the 1950s

    Shinnecock Voices: Rich and Steadfast History of Entrepreneurs and Professionals Alike

    Optyx held a ribbon cutting ceremony in September for its new Matituck location

    New Mattituck Shops & Eats Pack a Punch on the North Fork

  • Dan’s Papers

    The iconic mainstay of Long Island’s East End for over 60 years.

    Read Our Papers

    Digital Editions of Dan's Papers are available online.
    Get our best stories right into your inbox.
    Follow us
    © Dan’s Papers 2023 Schneps Media |
    Designed by Digital Silk
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

    Post an Event