A minke whale that had been swimming in Long Beach Harbor for a week has died, officials confirmed this weekend. The whale was found dead on Sunday morning after marine wildlife experts tried to help it return to deeper waters. Michael Milstein, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), shared that efforts to push the whale out of the harbor included removing barriers at the entrance and making sounds to encourage it to swim away. Unfortunately, these attempts were unsuccessful, and the whale returned to the harbor.
The whale was about 24 feet long and was classified as a male "sub-adult." It was discovered outside a small basin where boats dock for trips to Catalina Island. Milstein mentioned that the whale would undergo an examination to determine the cause of death, including the possibility of exposure to domoic acid—a neurotoxin linked to harmful algal blooms that have recently affected many marine animals in Southern California.
Minke whales are the smallest members of the baleen whale family, typically growing over 26 feet long and weighing up to 14,000 pounds. There are approximately 900 minke whales along the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and California, and they are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Milstein noted that it remains unclear why the whale entered the harbor. He suggested that it might have been searching for food or a resting spot. Whales sometimes stray into bays or inlets but usually find their way back out. Sadly, this time, the outcome was different.