Overview
- The male sei whale, about 30 to 40 feet long, reached Rockaway Beach on Thursday at Beach 95th Street after earlier sightings of the carcass 15 miles south of Long Island.
- AMSEAS and NOAA scheduled a necropsy for Friday to identify a cause of death, with test results likely to take weeks or months.
- NYC Parks, the state environmental agency, and NOAA secured the scene with barriers and told the public to stay at least 150 feet away under federal marine mammal rules.
- The species is listed as endangered, and the New York Bight logged 10 whale deaths last year in waters where ship strikes and fishing gear entanglement are known risks.
- Crews plan removal or beach burial after samples are collected, as onlookers gathered behind tape and a city council member floated an offshore wind theory that remains unproven pending findings.