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Minke whale carcass found at Humarock Beach

By Mary Ann Bragg
Posted Sep 10, 2019

SCITUATE — A minke whale carcass was found Monday afternoon in the surf at Humarock Beach, making for the fourth found in the region this summer.

At the beach, New England Aquarium’s marine animal rescue team found the carcass of a 22-foot-long sub-adult. The whale is believed to have died within the last few days.

The carcass had been significantly scavenged by sharks. A full necropsy couldn’t be performed because of the amount of tissue that had been eaten, but the good condition of the skin on the pectoral fins and back indicated that the whale had died recently.

There was no fishing gear or other evidence of human interaction that might have caused the death, the aquarium said.

Scituate town officials disposed of the carcass Tuesday morning.

Since July, minke carcasses have also washed up in Duxbury, Eastham and North Truro.

Minke whales are undergoing an unusual mortality event along the East Coast, with at least 66 having died since 2017, primarily in Massachusetts.

Full and partial necropsies on some of the carcasses have shown human interactions and infectious diseases could be attributed to the deaths. But the findings are inconsistent and more research is needed, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Minke whales in the U. S. are not endangered, but they are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Stranded minke whale euthanized in Wellfleet

By Beth Treffeisen Posted Oct 6, 2018

WELLFLEET — A minke whale had to be euthanized afterstranding near Great Island in Wellfleet on Saturday morning, according to Brian Sharp, manager of the marine mammal rescue and research team at the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The whale was found alive by people walking out to Great Island and called IFAW at around 11:30 a.m., said Sharp. Rescuers helping a dolphin that was swimming too close to shore in Eastham reached the minke whale within 20 minutes, he said.

The team performed a health assessment and found the whale was not in good condition, said Sharp. In order to stop the suffering, the team determined it was best to euthanize the animal, he said.

“Although this was not the outcome we wanted, at least the animal was not suffering,” said Sharp.

This marks the sixth minke whale to be stranded in Cape Cod waters in 2018, said Sharp.

A minke died on Sept. 29 in Barnstable and four other carcasses washed ashore previously: Feb. 15 in Barnstable Harbor, March 15 in Eastham, June 24 in Wellfleet and Aug. 27 at Sandy Neck Beach in Sandwich, according to National Oceanographic and Atomospheric Administration records.

Since January 2017, minke whales have been under “unusual mortality event” status — known as a UME — due to the elevated number of deaths from Maine through South Carolina, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. The UME status releases more money and resources to study the cause of the deaths.

There also are UMEs in place along the Atlantic Coast for humpbacks, North Atlantic right whales, and gray and harbor seals.

Minke whales, considered small when compared with a humpback or right whale, are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act but are not endangered or threatened.

Sharp encourages people who see a stranded minke whale to call IFAW’s hotline at 508-743-9548.

http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20181006/stranded-minke-whale-euthanized-in-wellfleet