Emaciated whale washes up on Ocean City, NJ beach

🔴 The emaciated pygmy whale washed up on the 49th Avenue Beach in Ocean City Saturday

🔴 There was not enough for a necropsy, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center

🔴 The whale had been dead "for a long time" before the recent strandings

OCEAN CITY — A badly decomposed whale that washed up on an Ocean City Saturday is not connected to the recent stranded whales and dolphins on New Jersey and New York beaches.

The pygmy sperm whale on the 49th Avenue beach was nothing more than “a skeleton with some skin on it," Marine Mammal Stranding Center executive director Sheila Dean told Sea Isle News.

Dean said the 9-foot whale had been dead "for a long time" and was barely recognizable. There was not enough for a necropsy to be performed.

City spokesman Doug Bergen told New Jersey 101.5 public works crews buried the carcass on the beach.

Pygmy whales are typically 700-1,000 pounds and up to 11.5 feet long, according to NOAA Fisheries.

Locations of 13 whales that have washed up on NJ/NY beaches since December or been spotted floating in the water (Canva)

Science vs. misinformation

Thirteen whales and 15 dolphins have been stranded on New Jersey and New York beaches since December. The most recent stranding involved eight common dolphins found on two beaches in Sea Isle City on Tuesday.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J. 2nd District, said he will introduce a resolution in Congress calling for a moratorium on all offshore wind projects. Supporters of wind projects such as the League of Conservation Voters continue to point to previous research showing no connection between the projects and strandings. They contend it is because of climate change and accuse Van Drew of spreading misinformation.

Dean was not available for comment on Monday.

15 dolphins have died on New Jersey beaches since February (Canva)

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

Up or down? Average property tax changes in NJ in 2022

Below are the average property tax bills for every municipality in New Jersey last year.

The towns are listed from the biggest cut in the average bill to the highest increase. On the county maps, the deeper red color means a higher increase above 2% whereas the darker green signifies a smaller increase or a reduction.

Each listing also shows how the average tax bill is split among the county, school and municipal governments.