Two humpback whales stranded off Fire Island escape sandbars, return to open water
Two juvenile humpback whales, stranded offshore of Fire Island during low tide, were freed as seas rose Wednesday afternoon, letting them return to open water, according to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society and the Village of Saltaire.
In Saltaire, a 20- to 25-foot adolescent humpback whale, chasing redfish, became trapped on top of an outer sandbar, created after the September nor'easter, sometime between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., said Mario Posillico, the village's administrator.
As the tide came in late Wednesday afternoon, the conditions allowed the whale to swim to safety around 2:30 p.m., Posillico said.
"He's out well beyond the sandbars now," he said.
The other whale, stranded behind a sandbar near Ocean Bay Park, was also freed before noon, according to Robert DiGiovanni Jr., the founder and chief scientist at the conservation society.
DiGiovanni said the changing environmental conditions following the nor'easter likely led to the whales becoming stuck.
"The erosion from the storm created the conditions that allowed this," he said. "You have a sandbar that's offshore from all the erosion that changed the environment considerably, and now [whales] are feeding in that area."
Both animals, he said, appeared to be uninjured when they left the sandbars.
The U.S. Coast Guard, Fire Island National Seashore, New York State Department of Ecological Conservation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries and Suffolk County Marine Patrol each responded to assist, according to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.
"It's important for people to be aware of their surroundings and not get close to these animals because you don't want to drive them onto a sandbar just because you're trying to get close to them," DiGiovanni said. "So always give them space."
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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