Decaying Whale Washes Up At Jersey Shore

BARNEGAT LIGHT, NJ — The decaying body of a whale washed up in Barnegat Light on Monday, a day after it was seen floating about a mile and a half off Long Beach Island, authorities said.

The whale is believed to be a female finback whale, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said.

It was first reported to the center about 10:20 a.m. on Sunday by a boater who saw it, dead and floating, offshore, the center said.

The U.S. Coast Guard analyzed the situation and told the center the whale would continue to drift toward the shore over the following day, and observers helped track the whale's location.

It was seen several hundred yards from shore in Surf City on Sunday evening, drifting north outside the breakers, center officials said. On Monday at 8 a.m. it was reported in the surf at 11th Street in Barnegat Light, and was in the surf near the jetty as of midafternoon, the center said.

The center had its stranding coordinator at the site on Monday monitoring movement of the whale and they were working with local, state and federal officials "for a recovery, examination and disposal plan," they said.

The carcass is heavily decomposed and scavenged, with parts of the body starting to break up in the surf, the center said.

"Marine mammals are federally protected," the center said. "We are asking the public if they find any parts of the whale or any marine mammal, do not touch or collect it. Please report it immediately to MMSC’s 24-hour Stranding Hotline (609) 266-0538."

It is the fifth whale to die on or near New Jersey's beaches in 2026, according to the center. A sei whale died off Jersey City in early April and was towed to Jones Beach in New York for a necropsy, and humpback whale washed up on Sandy Hook on April 1. Two finback whales washed up in February, one in Barnegat Light and one in Gloucester City, according to the center's records.

The center said any updates would be shared on its website or on its social media accounts.