NEW SHOREHAM, R.I. (WPRI) — The Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) has been able to identify the dead whale that washed ashore on Block Island.

Staff from Mystic Aquarium's animal rescue program took tissue samples, measurements and photos of the whale on Monday. The photos were sent to the CCS to see if the whale was in the center's Gulf of Maine Humpback Whale Catalog.

The adult female has been identified as a whale named Binary. The CCS says it first encountered Binary in the late 1980s.

The CCS says Binary has had at least nine calves over the years. She was regularly seen feeding in the Gulf of Maine and had also been spotted in the West Indies breeding ground.

Before she washed up on Block Island, the CCS said, its last Binary sighting was in 2022.

In a release, the CCS said Binary's death is part of an "unusual mortality event" that's been happening along the Atlantic Coast from Maine to Florida since 2016.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Binary is the 11th whale that has died in Rhode Island waters as part of this unusual mortality event.

You can read more about the unusual mortality event here. If you ever come across a stranded or entangled marine mammal or turtle, call the 24/7 hotline at 860-572-5955 x107.