A young female humpback whale, roughly 27 feet in length, was recently found dead on Rexhame Beach in Marshfield. This marks the sixth such incident of a large whale stranding in the past six months within Massachusetts, as reported by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation (NBC Boston and MassLive).
Whale and Dolphin Conservation officials are to call these strandings unprecedented, with their stranding coordinator Lauren Brandkamp noting, "This number of whale strandings in our response area is unprecedented," according to a statement obtained by NBC Boston. The team is determined to uncover the cause behind these events and prioritize science-based conclusions over speculation.
Speculation on social media suggested that these strandings might be linked to offshore wind farm activities. However, Regina Asmutis-Silvia, the executive director of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation, clarified, "We are well aware of social media campaigns which attribute these mortalities to offshore wind development, but, at least in our response area, there are no wind surveys or construction activities taking place," as told to NBC Boston.
The increase in whale strandings in the region isn't something new. Between 2016 and 2017, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared several Unusual Mortality Events for whales on the east coast, and the main causes have typically been identified as fishing gear entanglement, vessel strikes, or infectious diseases. Furthermore, there has been an uptick in forage fish near the coast, which may to be leading whales closer to shore and increasing the risk of these incidents, MassLive reported.
The Marine Animal Rescue and Response team is working to carry out tests and collect samples from the deceased whales despite challenges, such as unpredictable weather and the holiday timing, which impacted their ability to gather information in this latest instance. Brandkamp expressed the team's emotional response to these tragedies, saying, "We are heartbroken, exhausted, and devastated by these losses," in a statement reported by NBC Boston.
