UPDATED: January 31, 2018.
Audio from the press call is posted to the "resources" section below.
NOAA Fisheries is declaring the past year’s deaths of minke whales along the East coast of the United States an Unusual Mortality Event, triggering a focused, expert investigation into the cause.

Mouth of a minke whale with distinct grooves in its throat. (Image credit: Denise Risch/NEFSC/NOAA)