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BARNEGAT TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A minke whale died off the New
Jersey shore after a collision that nearly tipped over a small
boat and threw a person overboard.
Social media video of the collision in Barnegat Bay on Saturday
afternoon shows the motor boat rocking after the impact and the
20-foot (6-meter) whale splashing near the craft before swimming
away. The person thrown overboard manages to tread water next to
the boat.
The whale was found dead after it came to rest on a sandbar in
shallow water. Marine authorities were not able to get close to
the whale due to tidal conditions, according to the Marine
Mammal Stranding Center, a not-for-profit rescue, rehabilitation
and release organization.
“At this point, we really don’t have much to go on,” Jay Pagel,
stranding coordinator at the center, said Sunday. “The side of
the animal that we were able to observe had no obvious marks on
it that we could see. But again, our visibility was very
limited.”
Pagel said there were reports the whale had injuries prior to
the collision captured on video. He noted there was a second
video posted online that appears to show the whale making
contact with a pontoon boat after the initial collision.
The animal will be towed to a state park on Monday morning for a
necropsy to determine the cause of death.
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