North Shore Stranded Whale Likely A Vessel Strike, Entanglement Victim: WDC

WINTHROP, MA — A young humpback whale found stranded on the Winthrop shoreline last week likely died as the result of a vessel strike or entanglement with commercial fishing line, according to Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

WDC operators were on scene in Winthrop for two days doing examinations, taking photos and other preliminary investigations, but said they could not determine an exact cause of death because they were not able to gain state authorization to perform a full necropsy.

• Young Humpback Whale Found Stranded On North Shore

"Unfortunately, we have exhausted all of our options and have been unable to secure a location for necropsy due to busy summer beaches and other constraints out of our control," said Caroline Genther, Assistant Stranding Coordinator at WDC-NA. "This is disappointing to our team as we always aim to collect as much data as possible to better understand why the animal stranded, help further conservation efforts, and aid in infectious disease monitoring for public safety."

"We are incredibly frustrated that this young whale will not be examined as it likely stranded alive and has suffered from human impacts, making it highly unlikely it died from natural causes," said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, Executive Director at WDC-NA.

Humpback whales are a federally protected species and are listed as endangered under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act.

The decision, instead, was made to tow the whale offshore for burial at sea.

A satellite tag was attached to the whale to monitor its location after the tow.

"We want to thank our volunteers, Winthrop Marine Patrol and Animal Control, and the homeowner for their help throughout this response," the WDC said.