Overview

• The 20-foot minke whale was struck by a recreational boat in shallow Barnegat Bay Saturday afternoon, nearly capsizing the vessel and tossing a passenger into the water without injury.
• The whale’s carcass remains on a sandbar outside the Double Creek Channel until tides allow a tow to Island Beach State Park on Monday for necropsy.
• The Marine Mammal Stranding Center will conduct a post-mortem examination to determine whether the collision or pre-existing injuries caused the whale’s death.
• Agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, New Jersey State Police Marine Unit and Sea Tow worked together to document the incident and secure the area.
• This is the third whale stranding in New Jersey this year as boat strikes continue to pose a major threat to marine mammals.