Dead whale found on bow of ship at South Jersey port prompts investigation

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FluxDrift

Dead Whale Found on Ship in South Jersey Port, Investigation Underway

A massive fin whale, estimated to be between 25-30 feet long, was discovered on Sunday night on the bow of a ship docked in the Gloucester City port, sparking an investigation by federal wildlife officials. The carcass was reported to U.S. Coast Guard officials at around 11:15 p.m., prompting a response from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center.

Experts from the center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) worked together to recover and examine the whale, with plans for a necropsy to determine the cause of death. The NOAA Office of Law Enforcement will lead the investigation, as part of an effort to understand the increase in stranding events, particularly involving humpback whales, over the last decade.

The discovery has raised questions about potential human activities that may be contributing to marine species deaths in the region. Some critics have linked whale strandings to offshore wind development, a claim supported by no concrete evidence from NOAA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Instead, experts suggest that ship strikes, entanglement in fishing nets, and exposure to human activity are more likely causes.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has allocated $3.7 million for ecological research on offshore wind energy and whale behavior in the state's offshore wind lease areas. The industry faces economic challenges and ongoing opposition from politicians, including former President Trump, who paused leases for several East Coast projects citing national security risks.

As the investigation into the dead whale continues, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center will provide updates on its findings.
 
I'm like totally bummed when I heard about this fin whale on a ship in Gloucester City port 🐳😔. It's like, what even is going on with our oceans? We're talking 25-30 feet long here... that's huge! And it's a shame because we're trying to figure out why these whales are dying off and it's not just about offshore wind development... I mean, don't get me wrong, it's still a concern but like ship strikes and entanglement in nets are pretty common too 🚣‍♀️. But at the same time, you can't deny that our oceans are getting more and more messy 🌊. I hope they find out what happened to this whale soon so we can learn from it and do something about it 💡.
 
I'm really worried about these massive whales getting caught in the wrong place, you know? It's like, we're always talking about how awesome it is to have wind farms off our coast, but what about the impact on marine life? 🐳💔 I mean, think about it - 25-30 feet long and all alone on a ship. That's just not right. And now we gotta figure out if it was some human activity that did this to it... entanglement in nets, or getting hit by a boat? It's like we're playing catch-up here. We need more research, for sure! And while I get what the wind industry is going through, can't we find a way to coexist with these amazing creatures without putting them in harm's way? 🤔💖
 
ugh this is so sad 🐳😔 like what even is going on with our oceans? I'm from NJ and it's crazy to think about how our shorelines are affected by stuff that's beyond us. offshore wind development, ship strikes...it all sounds super complicated and scary 🌊💦 I wish we could just figure out a way to make sure these amazing creatures aren't dying off in our waters 🐋👍
 
this is so sad 🐳💔 another life lost in our oceans. i mean, we gotta do something about ship strikes and fishing nets, that makes way more sense than offshore wind development 🌊. i remember when the dolphins were dying off in california a few years ago, it was a huge scandal... and now here we are with whales 🐳. NJ is trying to be eco-friendly or whatever, but $3.7 million ain't gonna make a dent if we don't change our ways 🤑. did they check if the ship had a permit or anything? that's what i wanna know. btw, has anyone seen that documentary on blue whales? it's so eye-opening 📺
 
This is like so sad 🐳💔 I mean what's going on with our oceans? We're trying to save them but then these massive creatures just...die 🤯 I'm all for offshore wind energy and stuff, but like, we gotta think about the bigger picture here too. Ship strikes are huge, like a whale can't even swim away from that 🚢😩 And it's not just the whales, what about the fish and dolphins and all those other creatures? We're playing with fire over here 🔥 We need more research and less drama 🤷‍♀️
 
can you believe this 🤯? another massive whale just washes up in south jersey... like what are we even doing to our oceans?? i mean, i know offshore wind is a big deal and all, but come on people, can't we find a way to do it without hurting the marine life? 🌊 25-30 feet long, that's huge! hope they get some answers from this necropsy about what went down. ship strikes or fishing nets, who knows? maybe it's a combo of both... anyway, on to something else 😒
 
Dude I'm literally shaking thinking about that giant whale just chillin' on a ship in Jersey... like what even is going on? 🤣😂 Can you imagine having to recover a body that big from a boat? "Hey Bob, can you please grab the giant fish and just... just pull it up or something?" 🤪

And I'm all for investigating the cause of death, but ship strikes and entanglement in nets are like the ultimate buzzkill. "Oh no, we're gonna make wind farms because we love whales!" 😜 Meanwhile, someone's whale is just over there being all strangled by a net... 🐳😢

Also, who allocates $3.7 million for research on whale behavior? That's some wild math right there 💸🐋
 
I'm tellin' ya, it's crazy to think about how far we've come in understandin' marine life... or lack thereof, I guess 🐳😔. I mean, back in my day, we'd find a dead fish on the beach and just assume some kid had left it there for a prank. Now we're talkin' about fin whales, 25-30 feet long, just chillin' on a ship in Jersey port... what's goin' on? 🤔 I'm not sayin' it's necessarily humans doin' somethin' wrong, but come on, we gotta be more aware of how our actions affect the ocean and its creatures. It's like we're just startin' to scratch the surface of what's really goin' on out there... 🌊
 
ugh this is so sad 🐳😔... like what can we do to help these beautiful creatures? i'm all for offshore wind energy and stuff but at what cost? 🤕 it's just not fair that they're dying off in huge numbers... we need more research, for sure. maybe we should be looking into some other factors too, like pollution or climate change... not just the obvious ship strikes and entanglements... 🌊🔍 i'm all for a necropsy to figure out what's really going on here... justice for our fin whale friend 🐳💀
 
Man... this is just so sad 🐳😔. I mean, a 25-30 foot fin whale just chillin' on a ship in a port? That's just crazy talk 🤯. And the investigation is just the beginning. We need to figure out what's goin' on with all these whales strandings lately. It's like they're gettin' more and more mixed up in human stuff, you know?

I'm not buyin' that ship strikes and entanglement in fishing nets are the main culprits 🚫. I mean, come on, we've gotta look deeper than that. The whole offshore wind thing is just a wild card 🌪️. I don't think it's as cut-and-dried as everyone makes it out to be.

And what's up with the gov allocating $3.7 million for research? That's like, a drop in the bucket compared to how much we're investin' in offshore wind 🤑. We need more than just token funding if we wanna get to the bottom of this. This whole thing needs a serious reboot 💪.
 
I don't know what's more disturbing, the fact that a massive fin whale was found dead on a ship in South Jersey or the lack of concrete evidence linking offshore wind development to whale strandings 🤔🌊 I mean, it makes sense that human activities could be contributing to marine species deaths, but we can't just jump to conclusions without more research, right? 📚💡 At the same time, I'm all for investigating these things and finding ways to reduce harm to whales and other marine life. We need to make sure our offshore wind industry is being developed in a way that's sustainable and doesn't put our ocean friends at risk... unless, you know, ship strikes are actually the main culprit? 🚢🤷‍♀️ Can't say for sure yet!
 
man this is getting weird, first it's a fin whale just chillin on a ship in Jersey, what if the ship was carrying some toxic waste or somethin? and now there's all this talk about offshore wind development, i'm not saying it's bad for whales, but have you seen the pics of those turbines? they look like alien technology 🛸. and what's with the gov allocatin millions to research? sounds like cover-up to me. maybe we should be investigatin the real culprits, like the ship owners or somethin. and dont even get me started on the whole national security thing... sounds like an excuse for somethin more shady 🤔.
 
🐳 so a massive whale just shows up on a ship in South Jersey and no one knows how it got there or what killed it... sounds like a real mystery to me 🤔 but let's wait until we get some actual evidence, not just speculation about wind farms 🌪️ those guys are always jumping to conclusions... what's the proof that offshore wind is causing all these whale strandings? 📊 gotta see some numbers and stats before I buy into it... also, why did it take so long for someone to report a dead whale on a ship in port? 🕰️ seems like it should be a no-brainer to call animal control or something...
 
I'm so over this ship thingy... 🚢 I mean, come on, can't we just leave whales alone? We're the ones polluting their oceans and now we're trying to figure out why they're dying off? It's like, we knew this was gonna happen with all our offshore wind development. It's like we're playing roulette with marine life 🎲💔.

And don't even get me started on these investigations... "investigation underway" sounds so vague 🤔. Where are the concrete answers? When are they gonna tell us what really happened to this whale? I'm not buying the ship strike excuse either, it's just too convenient 😒.

We need some real action here, not just a few million bucks for research... that's just band-aid medicine 💸. We need to rethink our entire approach to marine life and sustainability. This is like, basic common sense 🙄. Can't we just be responsible for once?
 
omg what's up with all these whales dying 🐳😱 gotta be human activity somehow? idk if it's wind farms or ship strikes or whatever, but we need to find out ASAP! 3.7 mil for research is a good start tho 💸🌊 and NJ Gov Murphy's taking it seriously, fingers crossed the truth comes out 💪
 
ugh i'm literally freaking out right now 🤯 like how is this possible?! a 25-30 ft fin whale just chillin on a ship in south jersey port 🌊😱 what if it was intentional? what if we're doing something to harm these creatures and not even realizing it 😳 the marine mammal center should be doing way more research on this stuff ASAP 🔍🔬 i'm all for offshore wind development but not at the cost of our ocean's inhabitants 🌴💚
 
🐳💦 just a random fact: did you know that fin whales are the 2nd largest animal on earth? like, they can grow up to 85 feet long! 🤯 anyway, i'm thinking we need more research on what's causing these massive whale strandings. ship strikes and entanglement in nets don't seem like enough explanations 🚢💔

📊 stats: in the US alone, there were over 1,300 marine mammal strandings in 2022... that's a lot of whales! 🐳🌊 and if we look at global data, it's getting worse too. humpback whale strandings have increased by 25% since 2015 📈💥

🚨 btw, did you know that offshore wind development is actually growing faster than onshore wind in the US? like, they're building more turbines every year! 🌬️💨 but maybe we need to be careful about how we do it... 🤔
 
🐳😕 So I'm thinking, it's pretty wild that this huge fin whale just washed up on a ship in South Jersey port... like, what are the chances, right? 🤔 But seriously, it's a major red flag for marine life and our relationship with the ocean. I mean, we're talking about a massive 25-30 foot long creature here! And it's not like this is an isolated incident - there have been plenty of other stranding events in recent years.

And can we talk about how complex this issue is? It's not just one simple cause like ship strikes or entanglement. I mean, offshore wind development does seem like a possible culprit, but NOAA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management say they don't have concrete evidence to back it up... yet. 🤔

For me, the bigger picture here is that we're seeing some alarming trends with marine life. It's not just whales - sea turtles, dolphins, you name it. And it's like our human activities are having these massive ripple effects on the ocean ecosystem.

So yeah, I'm all for those $3.7 million in ecological research funds from Gov. Murphy. Let's get to the bottom of this stuff and figure out how we can reduce our impact on marine life. 🌊💪
 
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