Whale dies after nearly capsizing boat off New Jersey's Barnegat Bay
A 20-foot-long Minke whale has died after it collided and nearly capsized a pleasure boat in New Jersey's Barnegat Bay on Saturday, an incident that knocked one boater overboard, officials said.
The scary wildlife encounter unfolded in an area north of the Double Creek Channel in Barnegat Bay in Ocean County, officials said.
"At approximately 3:40 p.m., a boater in the area reported that a vessel had struck the whale, causing the vessel to nearly capsize and a passenger to go overboard," according to a statement from the New jersey Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC).
The person who was knocked into the water was not injured, officials said.
Kim Mancini of Lacey Township told ABC Philadelphia station WPVI that she witnessed the incident and recorded video of the distressed Minke whale coming up under the boat and nearly tipping it over.
Mancini told WPVI that there appeared to be something visibly wrong with the mammal.
"It was really in distress. That's when it would go under boats, it was a crazy experience," Mancini said.
Mancini said it appeared the whale was trying desperately to get to deeper water.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center said that about 50 minutes before the accident, it received a call that a whale had been spotted in Barnegat Bay near the inlet. Staff from the center, the Coast Guard, New Jersey Marine Police and the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Conservation officers responded to the area.
Officials said that after the collision, the whale was spotted resting on a sandbar in shallow water.
An MMSC employee and Fish and Wildlife officers approached the whale by boat but could only get within 30 yards of the mammal. Tidal conditions at the time prevented them from reaching the sandbar to examine the whale, officials said.
The whale was later pronounced dead on the sandbar, according to MMSC.
Officials said they will try again on Monday to move the whale with the help of Sea Tow, a boat towing company. MMSC said a necropsy will be preformed to determine an exact cause of death.
Meanwhile, MMSC is advising boaters to keep minimum of 150 feet away from the whale carcass.
