Dead whale spotted in Great Bay

NEWINGTON — A dead whale spotted in Great Bay near Fox Point was being relocated Tuesday, and investigators might never determine its cause of death.

Lt. Michael Eastman of the N.H. Fish and Game Department received a call about the whale beached near Fox Point on Tuesday morning. It is the first dead whale seen in New Hampshire since last summer, according to Ashley Stokes, rescue manager at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye.

Eastman sent an officer to investigate and notified the New England Aquarium and the National Marine Fisheries Service. According to Eastman, it is most likely a minke whale. Minke whales are fairly common in the area, said Stokes, estimating the whale to be a juvenile 12 or 13 feet long. 

Eastman said authorities are in the process of moving the whale to a safer area where it won't be in public view.

Eastman said the dead whale was first spotted Friday near Odiorne Point by lobstermen. Eastman said the whale was also sighted near the Coast Guard station in New Castle on Saturday and near the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Sunday.

Stokes said a full necropsy of the whale will not be possible because of its decomposed state. However, Seacoast Science Center is collaborating with the New England Aquarium to conduct a limited necropsy, hoping to determine the whale’s measurements and gender, to obtain a skin sample for genetic testing and to test for biotoxins. Stokes said a limited necropsy is unlikely to reveal the cause of death.

According to Eastman, there have been recent reports of live whales spotted in the area as well. Officers reported seeing minke whales for at least the past couple of weeks. The minke whale is the first beached whale in New Hampshire since a 45-foot humpback whale washed up at Foss Beach in late June 2016, drawing large crowds of people to Rye for several days.

Boaters are advised to be on the lookout.

“I think that (boaters) should be aware ... that minke whales are coming close to the shorelines," Eastman said, also noting menhaden and other species are coming in to feed. He advised boaters "to keep a vigilant eye out for them.”

Stokes said people who spot any beached marine mammals, either dead or alive, should keep a safe distance "and give us a call.”

Seacoast Science Center's Marine Mammal Rescue Team can be reached at (603) 997-9448.