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Investigators said the whale species was “rare” in this part of the world [Tracy Burry]<\/p>\n
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The beach has been cordoned off until the whale can be removed [Phil McDowell]<\/p>\n
HM Coastguard Canvey said its rescue officers and colleagues from Southend-on-Sea had passed on information to “the relevant agencies to arrange for removal”.<\/p>\n
“The area around the whale has been cordoned off by colleagues from the local authority,” it wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n “We urge members of the public to not attempt to go near to the whale, as deceased marine mammals may carry disease.<\/p>\n “A plan is in place to remove the whale over the weekend.”<\/p>\n Sowerby’s beaked whales can reach a maximum length of 5.5m (18ft) and weigh up to 1,300kg (2,866lb), according to Whale and Dolphin Conservation<\/a>.<\/p>\n They typically live in deep waters in the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea hunting squid and small fish, meaning they are rarely spotted in the North Sea.<\/p>\n Rob Deaville, project manager at the Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP), said: “CSIP are aware of this – it’s a Sowerby’s beaked whale, which is a deep diving species and relatively unusual stranding for England and Wales, so very much out of habitat in the Thames Estuary.<\/p>\n “We normally record roughly two Sowerby’s beaked whales a year on our patch, and the last one we had a report of in the Thames Estuary was on the north Kent coast in 2010.”<\/p>\n He said his organisation was working with the Port of London Authority “to see if it can be recovered from its current location and moved to a more suitable location to allow a necropsy to take place”.<\/p>\n People are being urged to stay away from the area where the whale was found [Tracy Burry]<\/p>\n Rebecca Harris, Conservative MP for Castle Point, shared a photograph<\/a> of the beach and said she was “deeply saddened to hear [a] deceased whale was found washed ashore on Canvey seafront. It is always very sad to hear that such a magnificent animal has died”.<\/p>\n Do you have a story suggestion for Essex? Contact us below.<\/p>\n Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a> and X<\/a>.<\/p>\n More on this storyRelated internet links![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/bbc_us_articles_995\/36aa1907f6d50020553d2789986cc4e3.jpeg\"\/)
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