Tag: humpback whale

Federal officials conceded during a recent community meeting that they could have done a better job responding to a humpback whale that was euthanized after getting stranded in Moriches Bay last fall.

A humpback whale was euthanized by marine biologists Wednesday, four days after it got stuck on a sand bar while feeding on fish in Moriches Bay and couldn’t free itself, officials said.

The whale is currently “grounded in the middle of the bay, near Hart’s Cove,” the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation said in a statement on Facebook.

The partial remains of a dead humpback whale were found floating in the waters off Westhampton over the weekend, marine biologists said. Southampton Town Bay Constables towed the carcass, initially sighted approximately a half mile off of Fish Creek in Remsenburg, to the end of South Bay Avenue so team of biologists from the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation could examine the remains on Saturday afternoon, officials said.

Marine biologists urged boaters to stay at least 150 feet away from the whale, which was last seen Monday off Port Washington.