Clean Ocean Action calls on Biden to halt offshore wind

In the past 33 days, six humpback and sperm whales have washed up dead along the shores of New Jersey and New York — an unprecedented number in such a short period of time. The major causes of whale deaths are vessel strikes, gear entanglement, and predator attacks. But oddly, none of the deceased have shown signs of either. The causes of the six recent deaths remain unknown.

This is in addition to an unusual mortality event that has included 35 recorded deaths and 22 serious injuries of North Atlantic right whales, the most critically-endangered whale species, since 2017.

Clean Ocean Action, a Long Branch, New Jersey-based nonprofit, called on federal officials to act quickly after the sixth whale washed up in Atlantic City on Saturday, January 7. Four additional groups co-signed a letter addressed to President Biden: Protect Our Coast NJ, Save Long Beach Island, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, and Defend Brigantine Beach.

The group made its demands after a 30-foot humpback whale washed up on Georgia Avenue in Atlantic City early Saturday morning. This was the second beached whale in two weeks and the third in the same region in a month. 

The authors argue that the deaths are correlated to “the ongoing geological seafloor-mapping and surveying and other pre-construction and construction actions by numerous offshore wind energy developers.”

COA’s press release states that the offshore wind industry has received 11 active, 5 current, and 18 previous-issued and expired Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHA) and Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) for marine mammals off the New York and New Jersey coast. These permits allow developers to disrupt or even accidentally kill endangered animals in the course of their activities. COA estimates that 157,328 marine mammals are impacted by these permits, including the fewer than 350 remaining North Atlantic right whales.

Environmental groups have spoken out repeatedly against the issuance of harassment and take permits, yet as the authors of the letter observe, “federal agencies, including NOAA Fisheries, have expedited the process for this massive offshore industrial development” rather than taking the public’s concerns seriously.

The authors of the letter are demanding a federal investigation into recent whale deaths, with independent oversight. Until this can be completed, they call for an immediate stop to all current offshore wind development activities, and a halt to any new offshore wind permitting activities.

Offshore wind developers are actively deploying several geological survey vessels off the coast of New Jersey and New York while waiting for permit approval for large offshore wind farms. When completed, hundreds of 1,000-foot-tall wind turbine generators will be built in the ocean, along with associated substations and thousands of miles of undersea cables. 

Geological research vessels use high-level focused pulses of sound to map the seafloor. Many whales, including humpback whales, hear and communicate on these frequencies. Using sonar at high levels is known to have negative effects on whales, including deafening, starvation and death.

“The UMEs (Unusual Mortality Events) for Humpback, Minke and NARWs that began in 2017 coincided with the introduction of wind farm survey boats,” said Bonnie Brady, Executive Director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association in the press release. “More investigation and transparency is necessary to make sure our marine life isn’t a casualty of offshore wind development, and samples must be collected and preserved by NOAA scientists.”

The effects of offshore wind on whale species and other marine populations remain uncertain. But as our own organization, the Save Right Whales Coalition, has pointed out, the industrialization of large swaths of habitat amounts to a massive and irreversible experiment. 

More independent research is urgently needed to understand patterns of marine mammal life and the causes of the unusual mortality event. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and NOAA Fisheries have downplayed potential risks to endangered species and steamrolled opposition by environmentalists and concerned citizens. As such, we support Clean Ocean Action’s demand for an independent investigation, and an immediate halt to industrial offshore wind permitting, surveying and construction.