Whale is killed in New Jersey waters after boat crashes into it, throwing sailor overboard
A 20-foot minke whale was spotted in Barnegat Bay Saturday around 2.45pm, leaving the Jersey State Police Marine Unit to notify officials with the Marine Mammal Standing Center of the discovery.
But, less than an hour after the call came in, a boater called in stating that the vessel hit the whale, causing the boat to nearly flip over and a sailor to go overboard.
Footage of the bizarre moment showed the boat rocking back and forth in the water as the whale splashed around, seemingly getting caught on it.
Sea Tow, a nationwide water service company that remained at the scene after the whale was struck, confirmed it died soon after.
The deceased whale could still be seen in the bay Saturday night, Sheila Dean, the director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, told NJ Advance Media.
'We know the whale has died. We're not really sure why, but we're going to find that out,' Dean told the outlet.
She said certain resources must come together to get the dead animal out of the water to then conduct a necropsy - a post-mortem examination of its body.
The whale was first reported to officials around 2.45pm, but less than an hour later the whale struck the vessel, causing it to flail in the water
In the now-viral clip, the sea animal was seen right along the boat.
As it appeared to turn the corner of the vessel, the whale tipped the boat over, causing a passenger in a blue shirt and white hat to fall into the water.
'Oh my God, they're going over!,' Kim Mancini, a resident who recorded the incident, said as the whale was seen trying to swim away from the boat.
'Shut the motor off! Shut the motor off!,' a man was heard screaming as the whale thrashed around in the water.
The sailor who fell over was then spotted in the water before climbing back on the boat. They were not injured.
While they did so, the animal swam away slowly, appearing to be injured.
Although the whale's cause of death has not yet been determined, Dean believes the shallow water played a factor after reviewing the footage for herself.
'It looks like the whale was in shallow water and of course people in their boats surrounded it and someone got very close. I don't know how they even got where the whale was because it was so shallow,' Dean said.
She further predicted that the animal might have been cut by the boat, adding that the vessel should have never gotten that close and should have turned its motor off with the whale nearby.
After the whale died, officers with the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Conservation boarded their own boat to access the animal.
The whale was spotted on a sandbar in shallow water outside of the channel later that day.
'They were able to approach within 30 yards of the whale, but due to the tidal conditions they could not safely access the sandbar for further direct examination,' the Marine Mammal Stranding Center explained.
Due to the availability of equipment needed to tow the whale out of the water, officials said the animal will likely be transported Monday morning.
The necropsy is expected to 'take several hours to complete,' the center said.
Mancini told the outlet: 'The whale had gone under our boat and then it went under the other boat and I took a video.'
'If the whale approaches you, you shut your engines off and just lay dead in the water until the whale swims away. You should never approach a whale,' Dean instructed.
'You have to stay 150ft away from marine mammals in the wild. That's the law.'
Minke whales are commonly spotted in the Jersey Shore area, often during the fall.
Although they are considered smaller than other types of whales, minke whales can grow to about 35ft and weigh approximately 20,000lbs.
They are not considered endangered species but are listed until the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
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