Humpback whale strandings across the East Coast have been elevated for the past seven years, an “unusual mortality event” as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries department calls it. Scientists were able to examine about half of the 178 animals that were reported, and of those, about 40% showed evidence of being killed by ships, or by entanglement with fishing gear. That may have to do with their food sources, mostly small fish, moving closer to shore, bringing more whales into danger from being hit by large boats in shipping lanes. The results for the other whale carcasses were inconclusive, often due to the bodies being too decomposed to examine properly.