Feds: Offshore wind not to blame for East Coast whale deaths

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ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (AP) Federal environment and energy officials moved Wednesday to calm a growing controversy over whether work done by the offshore wind industry is killing whales in the Northeast of the United States, saying there is no evidence that this is happening.

In a hastily arranged briefing for reporters, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management spoke of a spate of whale deaths on the East Coast that some groups suspect was caused by the works site preparation for offshore wind farms.

NOAA said there have been 14 whale strandings on the east coast since December 1, including humpback whales, which are common in the region, and some sperm whales, which are an endangered species. disappearance.

The call came two days after the last reported death, that of a humpback whale that washed ashore Monday on Assateague Island, Maryland. This whale’s death follows the deaths of seven whales in New Jersey and New York in just over a month.

NOAA officials said they have been studying the phenomenon of humpback whales dying at a high rate along the east coast since January 2016. During that time, 178 of the animals washed up dead between Maine and Florida.

Post-mortem examinations could be performed on approximately half of the animals, and of these, 40% showed signs of human interaction, such as entanglement in fishing gear or being struck by vessels, said Lauren Gaches, spokeswoman for NOAA. In other cases, the animals were too decomposed for an effective investigation.

In no case, according to authorities, has it been proven that a whale was killed by offshore wind activity.

I want to be clear: there is no information indicating that any of the equipment used in support of offshore wind development could directly lead to the death of a whale, said Benjamin Laws, deputy head of permits and conservation at the NOAA Bureau of Fisheries of protected resources. . There is no known link between offshore wind activities and whale strandings.

The issue has become contentious since early last week when Clean Ocean Action, one of New Jersey’s leading coastal environmental groups, held a press conference in Atlantic City with resident groups and wind energy opponents. offshore to call on President Biden to investigate the seven dead whales discovered. in New Jersey and New York since early December.

They also called for a temporary pause in ocean floor site preparation work for wind farms until the cause of death can be established, which New Jersey Democratic Governor Phil Murphy said. rejected.

Since then, other environmental groups and federal agencies have pushed back, saying there was nothing to link the deaths to investigative work for offshore wind farms. On Tuesday, many New Jersey environmental groups held a press conference in support of offshore wind and denouncing what they called the false narrative that planning offshore wind kills whales.

This prompted Clean Ocean Action to renew its call for a temporary moratorium on deep sea exploration.

All industrial activity, especially reckless industrial development of massive scope, scale, scale and speed, should be required to demonstrate that it protects the marine ecosystem, the group said in a statement.

Brian Hooker, leader of a biology team at BOEM’s Office of Renewable Energy Programs, said the type of surveying work currently being done off New Jersey and New York is not known to cause serious harm. to whales.

The work examines the ocean floor for the suitability of foundations for wind turbines and for laying cables between them and the shore, he said.

This work involves multi-beam sound equipment, side-scan sonar and so-called cone penetration tests in which a drill atop a ship drives a metal rod into the seabed to test the friction and resistance of the ground.

None of these methods have been shown to seriously harm whales, Hooker said. But they have the potential to affect animal behavior, he added.

Under federal regulations, vessels conducting offshore wind operations must meet numerous requirements designed to seek and avoid marine mammals, including whales.

A requirement is that there are observers on board whose sole job is to monitor marine mammals. One spotter should be on board during the day and two at night, using night vision equipment, Laws said.

Erica Staaterman, a bioacoustician at the BOEMs Center for Marine Acoustics, said surveying equipment used in offshore wind site preparation is different from that used in oil and gas exploration in that wind farm testing uses smaller and quieter equipment.

This type of equipment usually activates for a few milliseconds and then remains silent for 15 seconds. She also said there was no evidence that such tests were linked to whale strandings.

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Follow Wayne Parry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC

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