We have lost another one of our catalogued whales. The whale that washed up on Beach 9th, Far Rockaway NY was #NYC0323 in the New York City Humpback Whale Catalog.

NYC0323 was a young female humpback whale that Gotham Whale first catalogued in July 2023. She was documented 11 times since then, and every single one of our whale watching contributors had seen her at some point this year. The last time that NYC0323 was seen alive was when she was feeding inside Sandy Hook Channel, a mere 48 hours prior to being found floating off Rockaway. The loss of any humpback whale is devastating, but the loss of a whale that we have seen alive and feeding so many times is heartbreaking. Please help us to advocate for stronger protections for humpback whales against ship strikes in New York and New Jersey.

In these photos the AMSEAS team, directed by NOAA fisheries are doing a necropsy on this Juvenile Femail Humpback Whale that washed up on Beach 9^th in Far Rockaway. This is a horrible job to perform; it is very hot on the beach, smelly, messy, physically challenging and it is a thankless job! So thank you AMSEAS!!
AMSEA's just released the preliminary Necropsy findings: Preliminary necropsy findings for the subadult 33-foot long female revealed extensive bruising to the right side of the body consistent with suspect vessel strike. There was distinctive scarring noted around the animal’s peduncle consistent with a previous entanglement, although this was not thought to be related to this stranding event. The animal was found to be in robust body condition with evidence of recent feeding.

It is hard to watch all these Humpback Whales washing up dead on NY/NJ beaches. There are reasons why this is happening, I don’t know the exact causes. People are on the fence with the subject. Politicians are taking sides. Big Oil’s views it one-way, clean energy is taking another stance. What I do know it is 100% our fault these whales are dying. As always, it is us to blame. I’m sure, in the end, the whales’ deaths have to do with someone making money and the whales are paying with their lives.