April 23, 2023 — At least 40 whale and dolphin strandings have been reported along the New Jersey-New York coastline since December.

Dozens of Jersey Shore mayors, lawmakers and a handful of advocates have a sinking suspicion that offshore wind activity is to blame. They point to the sound technology used by offshore wind developers to map the ocean floor. Military sonar technology was once blamed for the deaths of whales found with bleeding ears in the Caribbean more than 20 years ago. But what about today?

In an effort to get to the bottom of this ocean mystery, New Jersey 101.5 spoke to the research group that examined the dead mammals as well as to representatives of two companies that are developing the offshore wind projects. Their answers shed light on what kind of injuries the mammals have sustained and what kind of technology and activities the offshore wind developers are employing off the coast of New Jersey. But the question remains: What’s causing these deaths?

Whale death numbers rise dramatically

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been tracking what they call an Unusual Mortality Event among humpback whales since 2016. This is a term given to a “significant die-off of any marine mammal population.”

But even amid the high number of strandings over the last seven years, 2023 is a standout year. The previous year-high was five in 2019. Less than five months into 2023, seven humpback whale strandings have already been recorded in New Jersey, according to NOAA. There were four in the state last year and at least two of those occurred in December 2022.

Read the full article at New Jersey 101.5

April 19, 2023 — The following was released by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection:

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and New Jersey Board of Public Utilities today announced nearly $2 million in additional funding for efforts to ensure the safe and ecologically responsible development of offshore wind energy to combat the worsening impacts of climate change.

Projects funded through the state’s Offshore Wind Research & Monitoring Initiative (RMI) include deployment of a whale detection buoy, a study to evaluate general species diversity in offshore wind development areas, and another to better understand offshore movement of harbor seals. Funding is also being provided for New Jersey’s entry into the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance (ROSA), a nonprofit organization leading a collaborative effort advancing fish and fisheries research related to offshore wind.

“Development of offshore wind energy is a vital component of the Murphy Administration’s work to mitigate and respond to the worsening impacts of climate change,” said Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn M. LaTourette. “These projects will continue to advance the collection of baseline scientific information that will help ensure the responsible development and operation of offshore wind facilities that protect our coastline and its natural resources.”

“We are deeply committed to doing all we can to ensure our offshore wind projects are implemented in as ecologically responsible a way as possible,” said NJBPU President Joseph L. Fiordaliso.  “We are excited about the new RMI grants and their ability to assist us in protecting the environment as we move forward to reach Governor Murphy’s goal of 11 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2040.”

The RMI is a collaborative effort of the DEP and BPU to coordinate research on potential impacts of offshore wind energy development and builds upon extensive work in this area by federal partners, including the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

As part of the BPU’s second wind energy solicitation, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC, and Ocean Wind II, LLC committed $10,000 per megawatt of project-nameplate capacity awarded – a total of about $26 million – to fund regional research and ecological monitoring. To date, RMI has provided $8.5 million in funding for offshore wind-related projects.
The awards being announced today include:

• Deployment and maintenance of a whale detection buoy off the coast of Atlantic City:  The buoy will listen for whales, and detections will be reviewed and used to inform NOAA’s Slow Zones for Right Whales program to mitigate risks associated with vessel strikes and future construction noise. This project will also examine how to best use these data to inform management moving forward, including optimizing the response time of the warning signal sent to vessels and the buoy network along the eastern seaboard, educating stakeholders on the capabilities of this technology, and fostering dialogue about how to implement near real-time acoustic monitoring into wind energy development activities. $602,135 was awarded to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute for this project, and the award will be facilitated by the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium.
• An Environmental DNA (eDNA) study: eDNA is a relatively new, non-invasive approach for monitoring species that are protected or otherwise important to maintaining the ecological integrity of coastal waters and are important to New Jersey’s recreational and commercial fisheries. Small samples of ocean water will be collected alongside traditional survey methods in and around the wind lease areas, and then processed to identify and quantify organisms that were recently present in the vicinity of the sample collection location. This study will result in data that will contribute to the future assessment of potential impacts of OSW on the diversity of organisms in the waters off New Jersey’s coastline during and after OSW construction. $1.2 million was awarded to Monmouth University to conduct the study.
• A study to better understand the movement patterns and health of New Jersey’s harbor seals, a key predator species: A robust population of harbor seals spends its winters in the Great Bay area north of Atlantic City, but more data is necessary is to better understand how harbor seals use the offshore space where wind energy leases are located. This study will tag and collect baseline health data for harbor seals, such as stress hormones, that should help assess the impacts of future OSW-related activities, including construction and operation, on harbor seals. $682,890 was awarded to Stockton University and the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society for this study.
• Membership in the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance (ROSA). ROSA is a nonprofit organization leading a collaborative effort to advance research and monitoring on the potential effects of OSW on fish and fisheries, resources that have high social and economic value to New Jersey.  Supporting ROSA complements New Jersey’s membership in the Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind (RWSC) and contributes to the greater regional effort to leverage existing and ongoing research, address data gaps, and meet long-term monitoring needs. ROSA provides opportunities for interactions between fishing industry representatives, federal and other state partners, offshore wind developers, and the public. $100,000 was allocated for a two-year membership.

In addition, RMI has issued an updated Request for Proposal to deploy archival passive acoustic monitoring equipment to better understand the distribution and habitat use of baleen whale species, including the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale, in the waters along New Jersey’s coastline. This project will be part of a larger effort that includes collaboration with nearby state, regional, and federal entities seeking to protect marine mammals as offshore wind farms are developed along the eastern seaboard. The updated RFP will leverage funding towards a greater number of listening devices, prioritizing detection coverage. A future solicitation will be created for regional spatial analyses of whale movement and distribution patterns.

RMI projects are selected to address the short-term highest priority research needs, which were identified and based on input gathered from subject matter experts, stakeholders including a variety of state, federal, fishing industry, and environmental organizations, and the New Jersey Environmental Resources Offshore Wind Working Group.

Providing funding for these projects demonstrates New Jersey’s commitment to regional cooperation and will provide important baseline data needed for future assessments of changes to our natural resources resulting from wind farm construction, operation, and decommissioning.

For more information about the Offshore Wind Research & Monitoring Initiative, visit https://dep.nj.gov/offshorewind/rmi

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April 18, 2023 — In a potentially serious setback for offshore wind energy, the Pentagon is expressing concerns that wind farm projects along the East Coast could pose a threat to national security.

According to published reports, the Pentagon is troubled that the Biden administration has plans to expand offshore wind farm projects along the Atlantic coast, warning that nearly all of the new territory is in conflict with military operations. The areas of concern are off Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, whose district includes the shore towns of Atlantic and Cape May counties, has been one of the most outspoken opponents of offshore wind energy.

Van Drew pointed to the Pentagon’s concerns as another reason why a moratorium should be placed on wind farm projects until there is further study of the impacts.

Read the full article at OC NJ Daily

April 8, 2023 — Monmouth County officials stood in the mist at Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park on Wednesday, where they gathered to call for an immediate stop to offshore wind energy work off New Jersey’s coast.

Their announcement marked a new addition to a growing group of elected officials who are demanding answers on recent deaths among whales and dolphins across the region, and who allege offshore wind survey work is the cause.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 10 whale deaths had been recorded along the Jersey Shore since Dec. 1. In addition, two separate pods of dolphins had stranded since early February on New Jersey beaches. Another three individual dead dolphins and one porpoise had washed ashore in separate strandings.

Read the full article at Daily Record

April 6, 2023 — There has to be something that’s contributing to a rash of marine mammal strandings along the New Jersey coastline, officials say. So, what is it?

County, state, and federal officials gathered in Long Branch on Wednesday to call for a pause of offshore wind activity, so that a comprehensive — and unbiased — investigation can be conducted into whether the going-green effort is contributing to the deaths of dozens of dolphins and several whales on New Jersey and New York beaches.

“It’s a simple equation — just stop, investigate, and tell us why,” Monmouth County Commissioner Thomas Arnone told a crowd at Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park.

For months, activists and officials have been pushing a not-yet-proven theory that preparation work to get wind turbines along the East Coast is interfering with the normal way of life for marine mammals, resulting in their death.

Environmentalists and New Jersey mayors have sent letters to President Joe Biden and Gov. Phil Murphy, asking for a halt to wind energy progress offshore, at least until it can be proven that acoustic surveys and other activity aren’t directly causing deadly harm to marine life. A moratorium has also been the focus of legislation on the federal level.

Read the full article at New Jersey 101.5