RODANTHE, N.C. — The carcass of a whale that stranded on the shore of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on Tuesday attracted onlookers as an investigation into the death continued.
“We drove down this way hoping that we would see it, and we just happened to park at the kayak launch and walk over the dunes, and there it was, we saw it, about a mile down the road,” said Kristi Riley-Benoit, who is visiting the Outer Banks from Maine. ”It was really sad to see it.”
NOAA said the whale was first reported on Saturday evening about 150 yards off the coast of Rodanthe. The next morning, a fisherman saw the whale alive and entangled in fishing gear and wanted to help.
Environment
A timeline of the whales that have died off Virginia, NC coast this year
“We were talking him through some guidance on what to do with the whale but in that process, sadly the whale did not survive,” said Blair Mase, Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator for NOAA in the Southeast U.S. "It took a last breath and kind of sank."
The female juvenile humpback whale then stranded on the shore of Pea Island on Tuesday morning, with fishing gear entangled around a fin and in its mouth.
NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is investigating the circumstances, as the agency seeks to determine the cause of the ongoing unusual mortality event among humpback whales along the Atlantic Coast.
News 3 has tracked nine whale deaths along the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina since the beginning of March, three of which are humpback whales.
Watch previous coverage: NOAA's law enforcement arm investigating dead humpback whale off Pea Island
The mortality event stretches back to 2016 during which at least 220 humpback whales have died, according to NOAA. A report found of those able to be necropsied, 40% died from either vessel strikes or entanglements.
"That’s a significant portion of strandings, so that is something we are monitoring closely,” Mace said. “It’s something we’re taking very seriously.”
NOAA said it is important to report sightings of whales in distress quickly. Along the North Carolina coast, you can call 877-WHALE-HELP (877-942-534). In Virginia, you can call (866) 755-NOAA (866-755-6622).
