A dead humpback whale washed up in Breezy Point, Queens on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018, according to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.
© US Park Police Sgt. Michael BeckA dead humpback whale washed up in Breezy Point, Queens on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018, according to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.
A dead humpback whale washed up on the shore of Breezy Point in Queens Monday afternoon, according to the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society.

The nonprofit groups said it was working with U.S. Park Police, the National Park Service and "local authorities" to "formulate a response plan."

"Atlantic Marine Conservation Society received a call from the US Park Police this afternoon about a deceased humpback whale, approximately 30 feet in length, that stranded in Breezy Point," Atlantic Marine Conservation Society said in a Facebook post Monday afternoon. "Because of the incoming tide and sunset, a response would not take place until [Tuesday] or Thursday."

The area where the whale washed ashore was closed off to the public for safety reasons, the organization said.

It was not immediately clear how the whale died.

The number of whale sightings along New York City's coast has increased over the past few years. The nonprofit Gotham Whale recorded 152 whale sightings in the waters around New York City in 2016 - up from 62 sightings in 2015 and 87 sightings in 2014.

In April, a baby minke whale was found on Bronx's Orchard Beach. It was later euthanized after scientists determined nothing could be done to save it.

Earlier in April, a humpback whale was found dead on a stretch of Rockaway Beach near 117th Street. The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society said at the time that it was likely hit by a ship.