Officials investigate death of endangered whale spotted off NJ coast

Government officials are investigating the death of an endangered whale off the New Jersey coast.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a press release that it is working with the Coast Guard and New York Department of Environmental Conservation to shore the carcass of a North Atlantic right whale that was found off the coast of Elberon.

The NOAA said a preliminary investigation into the whale’s death showed “a number of wounds along the head and body of the whale that are consistent with a vessel collision.”

According to the NOAA, entanglements with fishing gear and vessel strikes are among the top causes of North Atlantic right whale deaths.

The NOAA announced the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, Marine Mammal Stranding Center, Virginia Aquarium, and International Fund for Animal Welfare are preparing to send biologists to assist with the necropsy.