Delaware's 3rd dead whale this year remains stuck on Indian River Bay sandbar

Efforts to tow a dead humpback whale out of the Indian River Bay were unsuccessful Wednesday.

"The boat was not large enough to be able to handle that kind of weight," said Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Executive Director Suzanne Thurman. "The challenge is that it's so shallow in the bays, so the size boat that's needed can't get back there. We're back to the drawing board."

It's the third dead whale to wash up on Delaware shores this year. A juvenile humpback beached itself and died just north of the Indian River Inlet, in Delaware Seashore State Park on Thursday, March 13. Around Feb. 28, a dead juvenile fin whale washed up in the mud at Pigeon Point, just north of the Delaware Memorial Bridge in New Castle County.

A necropsy on the humpback whale indicated it may have been struck by a ship, Thurman said. It had blunt-force trauma across its back. The fin whale didn't drift into an area where it was possible to retrieve it until Wednesday, March 19, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokesperson Martha Meacham said. It was too decomposed for a necropsy and was disposed of in a landfill.

The 35-foot humpback in the Indian River Bay, first spotted there Monday, is likely a juvenile or sub-adult, Thurman said. She has yet to be able to get a look at the whale's tail flukes, she said, which are unique to each whale and could provide some history on the animal.

"The weather's been extremely challenging and even if we had another option (Thursday), it's so windy," Thurman said. "Something of that size can't be towed. These whales weigh a minimum of 1,500 pounds per foot."

Efforts to move the whale to perform a necropsy will continue "as long as needed," Meacham said.

If you spot a dead or stranded marine mammal or sea turtle in or near Delaware, call MERR's Emergency Hotline at 302-228-5029.

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Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Why Delaware's 3rd dead whale of the year is still in Indian River Bay