It’s hard to think of an animal on the land, in the sea, or soaring in the air that has probably deserved more protection from mankind than the whale.
There appears to be growing concern that off-shore wind farms heralded as critical new energy sources by eco-activists may be responsible for a spate of whale deaths off New Jersey and New York shores.
As of this post, seven humpback whale carcasses have washed ashore recently.
The death was the seventh in a little over a month. The spate of fatalities prompted an environmental group and some citizens groups opposed to offshore wind to ask President Biden earlier this week for a federal investigation into the deaths.The latest death Thursday was that of a 20- to 25-foot-long (6- to 7.6-meter-long) humpback whale. Its remains washed ashore in Brigantine, just north of Atlantic City, which itself has seen two dead whales on its beaches in recent weeks.There was no immediate indication of what caused the latest death. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center, based in Brigantine, said it and several other groups were formulating plans Friday for a post-mortem examination of the whale’s remains before the animal’s carcass is disposed of, most likely through burial on the beach.
Even one event is unusual. The whale bodies are being evaluated to determine the cause of death.
“I’ve lived here for many years and I can’t remember the last time I saw or heard a whale washing up on shore,” said Robin Shaffer from Ocean City.The city brought in scientists from the Atlantic Conservation Society from New York to perform the necropsy.”You thoroughly go through the animal, open it up, find out what happened with each organ, if you can, if everything is still in tact,” explained Sheila Dean, the director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center. “Everybody is concerned and there is what NOAA fisheries is calling an ‘unusual mortality event’ of humpback whales,” she said, noting Atlantic City isn’t the only place where humpback whales are washing ashore.
Additionally, two sperm whales also washed ashore. Some environmental groups are clamoring to halt offshore wind farm development.
“The wave of dead whales is the ocean sounding the alarm and we must heed the warning,” Cindy Zipf, the executive director of Clean Ocean Action, said in a statement on Jan. 9. “These tragic multiple deaths of mostly young, endangered whales are of no apparent cause, however, the only new activity in the ocean is the unprecedented concurrent industrial activity by over 11 companies in the region’s ocean, which allows the harassment and harm of tens of thousands of marine mammals.””Moreover, federal and state agencies have been recklessly fast-tracking offshore wind development projects,” Zipf added. “These three coinciding factors raise suspicions, and a responsible and reasonable response is the action plan for which we are calling.”
However, other conservationist groups blame climate change (of course) and plastic pollution.
Activists from groups including the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club, Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions, and GreenFaith held a press conference on the Atlantic City boardwalk Tuesday morning to blame climate change, plastic pollution, and fishery practices for the spike in whale casualties.“Warming waters are, in part, responsible for increasing the human-whale conflict and a threat to numerous other species across the globe,” said Paul Eidman, a conservationist, fisherman, and offshore wind advocate.“Those who are using the tragic deaths of these whales to speak out against any offshore power are engaging in nonscientific speculation, and some are using this as an opportunity to further an anti-environmental agenda. On the climate crisis and on the whale strandings, one thing is very clear: We must follow the science.”
So, the appears to be a battle between eco-activists looming. However, if we apply the same “rules” to the offshore wind farms that we do petroleum pipelines, they should be ended immediately.
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