Opponents of offshore wind urge probe in 6 whale deaths
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — As the stench of a dead whale hung in the air, environmentalists and opponents of offshore wind stood on a beach where the marine mammal lay buried this week and called for a federal probe into a spate of whale deaths in New Jersey and New York.
Groups from the two states wrote President Joe Biden requesting a probe of the deaths of six whales that washed ashore in a 33-day span in areas being prepared for large-scale offshore wind farms. They also are asking for a halt to site work until the causes are determined.
Cindy Zipf, executive director of New Jerseybased Clean Ocean Action, called the rate of whale deaths in the two states unprecedented.
“Is it an omen?” she asked. “Is it an alarm? Never before have we had six whales wash up in 33 days.”
She said survey boats explore the ocean floor using focused pulses of low-frequency sound in the same frequency that whales hear and communicate, which could potentially harm or disorient the animals.
The news conference was held on the beach in Atlantic City atop the buried carcass of a whale that washed ashore over the weekend in front of the Boardwalk arena that used to house the Miss America competition.
An marine mammal stranding expert said that while the cause of the deaths is unknown, it could be a function of a more whales in the area this winter, with the number of deaths rising proportionately.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that to date, no humpback whale — the species accounting for most of the recent whale deaths in New Jersey and New York — has been found to have been killed due to offshore wind activities.
New Jersey is striving to be the East Coast leader in the burgeoning offshore wind energy. The state has approved three offshore wind farms and is soliciting more during the first quarter of this year. Additional projects are planned off the New York coast.
Orsted, the Danish wind power developer that will build two of those three approved projects, said its work off the New Jersey coast does not involve using sounds or other actions that could disturb whales.
“As the world’s most sustainable energy company, we prioritize coexistence with our communities and marine wildlife,” said Maddy Urbish, the company’s head of government affairs for New Jersey. “When offshore, we combine human surveillance and state-of-the-art technical equipment to avoid any impact on marine wildlife as we build projects to advance New Jersey’s clean energy ambitions.
The groups’ demands came after a 30-foot humpback whale washed ashore Saturday in Atlantic City. Another humpback whale washed up a few blocks away Dec. 23, and a third humpback was found Dec. 10 on a beach in Strathmere.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center, just north of Atlantic City in Brigantine, responded to the city’s two recent whale deaths.
Sheila Dean, the center’s director, said many variables could be in play, including underwater sonar use by the military, the prevalence of plastic pollution in the ocean, and the danger of collisions with ships.