February 28, 2023 — Since Dec. 1, there have been 18 reports of dead whales washing ashore along the Atlantic Coast, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
With each dead whale washing ashore, the blood pressure of offshore wind critics has risen. They believe the survey and construction work associated with building new offshore wind farms in the New England and New York regions may have contributed to the whale deaths.
Government officials say there is no relationship between offshore wind and whale deaths. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website maintains a section where it reports on the number of whales washing ashore since “unusual mortality events” started being tracked in 2016.
Since 2016, a total of 184 humpback whales have washed ashore. A peak of 34 whale deaths was recorded in 2017. Last year, there were 19 whale deaths. But so far this year, there have been 10 deaths recorded. Five East Coast states – Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and North Carolina – account for 81% of all whale deaths. Four are sites of offshore wind work.