World Courant
LONG BEACH TOWNSHIP, NJ — A useless humpback whale that washed up on Lengthy Seaside Island in New Jersey on Thursday was the primary such loss of life within the state this 12 months, in accordance with a marine mammal rescue group.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Heart mentioned it obtained a name at 6:45 a.m. reporting a useless humpback whale within the surf in Lengthy Seaside Township. It mentioned the animal was a younger male between 20 and 30 toes lengthy, however didn’t launch any additional data, together with whether or not there have been any exterior indicators of damage or sickness.
Sheila Dean, director of the middle, mentioned an post-mortem was carried out on the whale on Thursday night.
The middle’s web site says the primary whale loss of life of the 12 months follows 14 whale deaths in New Jersey in 2023.
The Nationwide Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration didn’t reply to a request for data on whale deaths and related fatalities alongside the U.S. East Coast in current months.
It sparked renewed protests from opponents of offshore wind power, who consider that making ready websites for oceanic wind farms harms and even kills whales – a declare that quite a few scientific our bodies say is unfaithful.
The group Defend Our Coast NJ mentioned it’s “deeply alarmed” by the whale deaths, and remained skeptical of official scientific statements.
“We do not know if the offshore wind firms blowing up the water with sonar sparks and seismic units could possibly be harming the communication patterns of those marine mammals,” mentioned Robin Shaffer, president of the group. “However we’re skeptical of the claims too usually made by scientists within the instant aftermath of those deaths that they had been attributable to ship strikes or fishing gear entanglements.”
Shaffer added: “Is not it at the least doable that there’s another issue inflicting disorientation, and that the ship’s collisions and entanglements are a secondary issue?”
Companies together with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Vitality Administration, the Marine Mammal Fee and the New Jersey Division of Environmental Safety all say there isn’t any proof linking whale deaths to offshore wind preparation.
The American Clear Energy Affiliation has taken notice and mentioned the business makes use of many procedures to forestall hurt to marine animals.
“To guard marine life, all levels of offshore wind power improvement are topic to strict regulation and monitoring necessities, utilizing measures similar to necessary velocity limits for ships, ship collision avoidance measures, fixed visible and acoustic monitoring , seasonal restrictions, noise discount know-how and different mitigation measures. ,” mentioned spokesman Jason Ryan.
The whale loss of life on New Jersey’s Lengthy Seaside Island is the primary of the 12 months, the stranded group says
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