dead whale
© New England Aquarium
Another minke whale washed up dead on the Marshfield shore Tuesday morning, adding to what officials with the New England Aquarium say has been an "exceptional" year of minke whale die-offs.

The whale washed up in the Brant Rock neighborhood, the second in the past two months. The body was first spotted on Sunday floating offshore about six miles east of Scituate. Though a necropsy was done, sharks ate much of the body, making results limited.

The New England Aquarium says 28 known minke whales have died on the east coast this year, including 11 in Massachusetts, eight in Maine, two in New Hampshire and one in Rhode Island.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal oceans agency, says it's an unusual mortality rate for the species.

Minke whales are the smallest of the baleen whales, often spotted during whale watches, but don't often breach.