- - Dead fin whale discovered on bow of ship in New Jersey marine terminal

Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY January 6, 2026 at 10:11 PM

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Dead fin whale discovered on bow of ship in New Jersey marine terminal

Authorities have launched an investigation after a dead whale was found on the bow of a ship coming to port at a marine terminal in New Jersey over the weekend.

The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay reported on at around 11:15 p.m. local time on Jan. 4 that a dead whale was caught on the bow of a ship at a marine terminal in Gloucester City, New Jersey, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. The Gloucester Marine Terminal is located in the Port of Philadelphia on the Delaware River.

In an update on Jan. 6, the center — a federally authorized animal rescue service based in New Jersey — said it was at the scene on Jan. 5 and worked with local assets to remove the whale from the bow of the ship and tow the carcass to a nearby secure location.

The center said it worked with local, state, and federal authorities to identify an appropriate necropsy and disposal site. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident and has asked anyone with information on the dead whale to contact its hotline.

The whale has been tentatively identified as a fin whale and is believed to be about 25 to 30 feet long, according to the center. An official identification of the whale will be confirmed during the recovery and examination.

What are fin whales?

The second-largest whale species after blue whales, fin whales are classified as an endangered species, according to NOAA. A fully grown fin whale can reach up to 85 feet long and weigh 40 to 80 tons.

The massive mammal, which gets its name from the fin on its back, near its tail, is found in oceans across the globe, the NOAA said. Fin whales are typically found in deep, offshore waters in open seas, away from the coast, primarily in temperate to polar latitudes.

Like all large whales, the NOAA said fin whales were hunted by commercial whalers and their populations were significantly decimated. Populations have since gradually recovered due to conservation efforts.

While whaling is no longer a threat to the species, their existence is still threatened by ship strikes, entanglements in fishing gear, underwater noise, and the effects of climate change, according to the NOAA.

The species, along with all other marine mammals, is protected under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. The law makes it illegal for people to disturb, feed, harass, hunt, and capture marine mammals.

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In recent years, vessel strikes and fishing gear entanglements have been persistent threats to whales across the world. According to the nonprofit International Marine Mammal Project, about 20,000 whales are killed worldwide by vessel strikes each year.

"Large whale species such as fin, humpback, gray, and blue whales are most often victims, with collisions concentrated in busy shipping lanes near major ports and along migratory routes," the International Marine Mammal Project said. "On the U.S. West Coast, California’s waters are a hotspot, with ship traffic converging near critical whale feeding and migration areas."

Currently, the NOAA has three active unusual mortality events for minke whales, North Atlantic right whales, and humpback whales along the Atlantic Coast. An unusual mortality event is defined as "a stranding that is unexpected; involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population; and demands immediate response," according to the agency.

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From late 2022 to early 2023, USA TODAY reported a series of deaths involving more than 20 whales, including critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, humpbacks, pilot whales, and orcas. Several of the deaths were attributed to a variety of human activities, such as boat strikes.

In 2024, the NOAA reported that multiple North Atlantic right whales had died from injuries consistent with a vessel strike. In July 2025, the California Academy of Sciences and the Marine Mammal Center confirmed that 24 whales died in the greater San Francisco Bay Area region for the year.

The deaths included 21 gray whales, two unidentified baleen whales, and one minke whale, according to the California Academy of Sciences. At the time, the research institute said the cause of eight of the gray whale deaths was determined to be suspected or probable vessel strikes.

"The Academy and partners at the Center have not responded to this many dead gray whales since the height of the Unusual Mortality Event in 2019 (14 individuals) and 2021 (15 individuals)," the California Academy of Sciences said in a statement in July 2025.

Contributing: Saman Shafiq and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dead fin whale found caught on ship in New Jersey marine terminal

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