Dead humpback whale washes up on Long Beach shore
A dead whale washed up on the shore in Long Beach on Friday afternoon. Credit: Jim Staubitser
State officials and a conservation group responded Friday when a dead humpback whale washed up off the coast of Long Beach.
The beached whale was reported at 4:45 p.m. Friday on the beach at Laurelton Boulevard, according to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.
Conservationists said the whale was spotted floating near the SS Oregon shipwreck a week ago and was very decomposed when it washed ashore.
The Department of Environmental Conservation, Town of Hempstead, City of Long Beach and U.S. Coast Guard are monitoring the whale overnight.
Officials plan to remove the whale by 7 a.m. Saturday following a necropsy and will determine a site where it will be buried.
Long Beach officials said they do not anticipate any beach closures.
The public is asked to stay 150 feet away from the whale and do not come in contact.
“The death of this whale is troubling and I have been in touch with the Department of Environmental Conservation, who will be handling this matter and will seek to determine a cause of death as soon as possible,” Sen Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) said in a text message Friday.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
