A 20-foot minke whale died shortly after colliding with a boat on Saturday in the Barnegat Bay along the Jersey Shore. The incident occurred near Long Beach Island.
Video captured the sad event as the whale crashed into the boat, knocking a woman overboard and almost capsizing the boat. Boat Captain Charlie Nunn said “it had been a freak accident” and the boat had been in the area before the whale arrived.
It has been speculated the whale became stressed and went into fight or flight mode in the three foot dept of water at the spot where the boat had been.
Before the collision, the Stranding Center staff was first alerted to a whale in the bay at 2:45 pm by the New Jersey State Police Marine Unit. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center is federally authorized rescue, rehabilitation and release facility for marine mammals.
Nearly an hour later, the collision with the boat occurred. The Stranding Center staff boarded a New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Conservation boat to observe the whale that had come to rest on a sandbar in shallow water. The whale had died.
Rest in peace.
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