Mystic Aquarium Investigating Minke Whale Death Off RI Coastline

MYSTIC, CT — A dead juvenile minke whale, entangled in fishing line, was found floating offshore from Point Judith in Rhode Island Monday and the Mystic Aquarium was called in to help determine and study the animal's death.

Whether the entanglement in fishing line was its cause of death is yet to be determined.

The Mystic Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Program went to the site where the whale was brought ashore, towed by the RI Department of Environmental Management Division of Marine Fisheries and brought to its Coastal Fisheries Lab in Wakefield, RI.

Mystic Aquarium was called out Monday and will be on site for what is anticipated will be the next several days assisting with the necropsy and gear retrieval for further study, according the a news release from the Aquarium.

The U.S. Coast Guard was able to locate the carcass and coordinated with RI DEM to secure and transport the whale to shore near Wakefield, where Aquarium teams joined by the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society performed a field necropsy and retrieve gear for further analysis by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

It's reported by the Aquarium that the whale was in an advanced state of decomposition, "which makes it tough to conclude anything definitively."

"We cannot say the entanglement is the definitive cause of death at this time," the news release reads. Samples were collected and will be analyzed further in the weeks ahead.

In its news release, Mystic Aquarium said its "scientists stress that the death of this minke whale is a clear and stark example of the need to prioritize investment in conservation research, as experts continue to fight the tide of extinction for cetacean species disappearing from our oceans."

“The tragic loss of this animal is a sad but important reminder of the dire circumstances many cetaceans currently face,” Dr. Stephen M. Coan, Aquarium CEO, said. “The environment where these whales live is changing rapidly due to the impact of human activity and climate change. We must make every effort now to ensure a future for these incredible species.”

This photo depicts a dead animal and may be disturbing for some readers.

Data on the minke whale

According to data from the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration, there have been over 100 Minke whale strandings reported since 2017. North Atlantic right whales, which are on the brink of extinction, and humpback whales are vulnerable to strandings and mortality events as well, and have had over 150 reported strandings since 2016, according to NOAA.

About the Mystic Aquarium Animal Rescue Program

In addition to marine mammal rescue response and mortality investigations, researchers at Mystic Aquarium are studying beluga whales on site at the Arctic Coast habitat, currently home to eight belugas. By gathering information in the controlled setting of this state-of-the-art habitat, scientists hope to uncover more information about why threatened wild populations of belugas and other whales are steadily declining.

Since 1975, the Animal Rescue Program has been rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing sick, injured, and stranded marine animals along 1,000 miles of the Northeastern coastline throughout Connecticut, Rhode Island and Fishers Island, New York. The Animal Rescue Team responds to an average of 150 hotline calls each year. The Aquarium encourages anyone who finds a stranded or injured marine mammal or sea turtle to call the 24-hour Animal Rescue Hotline at 860.572.5955 x107.