A humpback whale carcass that washed ashore on New Jersey’s Long Beach Island on Thursday was the state’s first death this year, according to marine mammal conservation groups.
The Marine Mammal Stranding Center said it received a call at 6:45 a.m. that a humpback whale had died in the surf in Long Beach Township. Officials said the animal was 20 to 30 feet long, but did not provide further information, including whether it showed signs of trauma or illness.
This is the first confirmed whale death in New Jersey this year, following the death of 14 whales in New Jersey in 2023, according to the center’s website.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration did not respond to requests for information about the whale deaths and similar fatalities along the U.S. East Coast in recent months.
This prompted fresh protests from opponents of offshore wind power. They believe that construction work on offshore wind farms is harming and even killing whales, but many scientific institutions say this claim is not true.
Then, on April 11, 2024, workers consider how to remove a humpback whale carcass that washed ashore in Long Beach Township on Long Beach Island, New Jersey. It was not immediately clear what caused the whale’s death. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
New Jersey conservation group Protect Our Coasts said it was “gravely concerned” by the whale’s death and continued to express skepticism of official scientific statements.
“We don’t know whether offshore wind companies blasting ocean areas with sonar ignition devices and seismic devices may be damaging the communication patterns of these marine mammals,” said Robin Shafer, the group’s president. No,” he said. “However, we are skeptical of statements that scientists often make shortly after these fatalities that vessel strikes or entanglements with fishing gear are to blame.”
Schaefer added: “Isn’t it possible that there is at least some other factor causing the disorientation, and that the ship’s collision or entanglement could be a secondary factor?”
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Agencies including the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Marine Mammal Commission and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection all say there is no evidence linking the whale deaths to offshore wind preparations.
