PEA ISLAND, N.C. (WAVY) — A dead whale washed ashore at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Tuesday, according to the U.S. Wildlife Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in North Carolina.
The Southeast U.S. Marine Mammal Stranding coordinator for NOAA, Blair Mace says the whale was first seen around 150 yards from shore Saturday, April 13. A citizen reported the sighting to NOAA and volunteers were sent to assess the situation. The volunteers couldn’t get close enough to figure out if the whale was injured or distressed.
“We started to kind of be on guard for the next morning and we sent the Park Service, who went out there first light, and they said the whale was still in the vicinity,” Blair Mace told 10 On Your Side. “So that led us to believe that there was something wrong with that whale. So we started to put wheels in motion to get verification on what was going on with that whale.”
There was an aerial survey team nearby conducting whale surveys. NOAA contacted them as well as Marine Patrol and the Coast Guard to get closer and assess the situation.
That’s when Mace says a fisherman was seen approaching the whale. The fisherman noticed the whale was entangled in fishing net. The Stranding Team was able to get in contact with the fisherman and NOAA disentanglement experts talked him through disentangling the whale.
Before the fisherman could get the whale disentangled, it died.
“It was a really sad situation overall and even though it was reported, and we were able to talk to the fishermen, we just couldn’t get to it in time to allow for its survival,” Mace said.
When the whale died, it sank.
“We were waiting to see if it would float back up so we can tow it in but it ended up washing ashore on Pea Island yesterday,” said Mace.
The stranding team then responded to Pea Island where they anchored the whale to the shore, according to USFWS.
“It did have gear on fishing gear on its flipper and in its mouth, which obviously contributed to the cause of death to that animal,” Mace said.
Mace said the type of fishing net the whale was entangled in is legal in North Carolina and is used 150 yards offshore, where the whale was originally spotted.
USFWS officials said the whale’s body has been anchored to the shore and biologist will perform a necropsy as soon as tide conditions allow.
This is just the latest in a series of dead whales found along the coast of Hampton Roads and the Outer Banks.
Two whales washed ashore in Virginia Beach in March and officials with NOAA told 10 On Your Side another four whales were found stranded along the Outer Banks between March 5 and March 9.
Anyone who sees an injured or stranded whale, dead or alive, should call the Greater Atlantic Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline at 866-755-6622 or the Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline at 877-942-5343. You can also download the “Dolphin and Whale 911” app for iPhones to report strandings directly to NOAA. They ask anyone who encounters an injured or stranded whale to maintain at least a 500-yard (1,500-foot) distance away from it.