The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) and federal marine researchers are investigating the cause of death of a minke whale that washed ashore on a private beach in Chilmark recently.
Aquinnah Wampanoag natural resources director Bret Stearns said he and other tribal officials responded to the report of the dead whale on Sunday, April 29 on Black Point Beach, a private beach. They estimated the male was 27 feet long, was between the ages of 6 and 8, and weighed approximately 6,000-7,000 pounds.
A team with the International Fund for Animal Welfare and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducted a preliminary necropsy on Tuesday but Stearns said that there are no results from tests so far and no immediate signs of human interference.
The latest whale death arrives as the local Wampanoag natural resources department reported a record number of marine mammal standings on the Vineyard’s coast last year in recent Island history. The department responded to more than 40 incidents in 2024. There were three whales — one right whale, one sperm and one humpback — that washed up on or near the Island in 2024. Regional researchers say that the uptick on the Vineyard, for some species, falls in line with a rise in standings reported along the entire Massachusetts coast.
“We are seeing more whale fatalities. The data shows it, the graphs show it, and I have seen it,” Stearns said. “Every one of them is troubling. That is why we go to such lengths to get biological data when it happens. Because we want to know.”
Adding to the concerns, Stearns says that he can’t remember the last time that he did see a minke whale wash ashore on the Vineyard.
NOAA reports that since January 2017, elevated minke whale mortalities have occurred along the Atlantic coast from Maine through Georgia. Preliminary findings in several of the whales have shown evidence of human interactions or infectious diseases.
NOAA reports that a dead minke whale washed ashore on the Island in May of 2023, also in Chilmark. That was the only one reported on the Island since NOAA has mapped their fatalities starting in 2017.
The common minke whale has an average lifespan of 50 years, and is the smallest baleen whale in North America. They can reach lengths of up to 35 feet, and weigh up to 10 tons.
On Sunday, Stearns said that he originally attached a rope to the minke, along with an anchor to make sure it didn’t float away; some believed that the anchor caused the death but Stearns clarified that that was not the case.
Stearns issued a release on the whale on Thursday evening, alerting the public. The whale has been left onsite, and arrangements to bury the whale are being organized by the landowner.
If you see a stranded, distressed, or dead marine mammal, contact the tribe’s and NOAA’s stranding network hotline at 866-755-6622.
Could this be because of the rise in the oceans temperature, plastics, fishing debris and just overall irresponsible disposal of trash.
Thanks to all the Wind Turbines in our Vineyard oceans that have ruined their peaceful habitat and replaced it with destructive vibrations and loss of food sources etc that sustained them. All to get a marginal replacement for oil based energy sources. This is a disaster as these companies will be no where to be found now that their federal tax savings are gone and these turbines will be ours to dismantle. Shameful.
Data ?
NOAA fisheries website clearly states the large majority of right whale deaths are from entanglement and vessel strikes.
If you’re going to impugn the Wind Turbine industry, you’d best present the data from scientific sites, or your comments come across as merely emotional.
M–I don’t think comments about the wind farms killing whales are emotional — they are wilfully ignorant, and driven by a political ideology.
When the green lobby wants to dismiss the 5x higher than usual whale and dolphin mortality, they absolve OSW by blaming “ship strikes.” Open your mind and ask how many more ships are plying these waters to support ocean industrialization, because it’s massive. Or ask if NOAA’s statement that all this construction is causing “temporary and permanent hearing loss” in whales could explain so many of these deaths. Ask if there is a better way to make the transition from fossil fuels — because doing this is destructive to life and the environment, offshore and onshore.
I am not a big fan of turbines on the ocean.
You do realize that they have been dying and born for hundreds or more years.
As have humans.
Could be due to the increase in shipments of products coming from other countries and more cruise ships, so more opportunities for injuries from those ships?
I remember when a lot of countries commercial ships had been crossing into American waters to fish.
Unless you are monitoring the US waters you can not say that deaths are due to one specific thing. From what I have been reading the majority are from injuries and commercial fishing debris (hence the word entanglements).
I’d again believe that they are digesting non edible undigestable items. Also the internet has brought more reports to us faster and easier than before it’s creation.
Wind vessels are less than 1% of the vessels operating in Right Whale habitat.
It wasn’t a right whale, but wouldn’t you say the marked increase in dead whales and dolphins washing ashore since the turbines were built is evidence of something?
Paragraph 4 – What is a “right whale”?
Eubalaena glacialis
It’s the RIGHT kind of whale to go a-whalin’ after
A Right Whale (E. glacialis) is mostly an inshore migrating baleen whale that can grow up to 55 or so feet, fairly docile whale that can stay at the surface for some time. They had a high yield of both blubber and oil back in the days of whaling. It is said, they were named “Right Whale” because they were easily found in the early days of whaling, and were considered the “right whale” to set out on.
Am I missing something here? The article states the whale was a minke ,not a right whale. Either way sad to see.
If this is the product of activities associated with VW1 , then it’s covered as a level A “take” under their incidental take permit.
They have 1 level A “take” and 28 level B “takes” for Minke whales authorized for the project.
Mono pile driving has resumed for revolution wind , let’s see if there’s an uptick in mortalities.Afterall , NOAA states that the Mono pile driving phase is the most invasive part of these projects.
Time will tell.
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