March 16, 2023 —
About 150 commercial fishing vessels use traps to capture sablefish in waters off California, Oregon and Washington.
The fisheries service estimates the fishery accidentally injuries or kills an average of one humpback whale per year.
Sablefish dwell on muddy ocean floors deeper than 650 feet (200 meters). To target the fish, fishermen place multiple heavy pots on the seafloor and link them together with heavy-duty fishing line.
March 2, 2023 — Maine Congressman Jared Golden is calling on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to release more information on the recent increase in whale strandings that have been happening along the Atlantic Coast.
“As you are aware, in the past two months alone, the Marine Mammal Stranding Network has reported at least 18 cases of whales found washed ashore along the Atlantic Coast,” Golden wrote in a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and National Marine Fisheries Service Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Janet Coit. “Alarmingly, humpback whales and North Atlantic right whales – both species currently experiencing Unusual Mortality Events – are the two species that account for the majority of these strandings. At least seven dead humpback whales have already been reported in 2023, including four in New Jersey. This is in addition to a North Atlantic right whale that was found stranded along Virginia Beach earlier this month.”
February 28, 2023 — A group of 30 New Jersey mayors are seeking a temporary moratorium on new wind power projects, citing a recent spike in whale deaths.
In a letter to President Joe Biden and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, the mayors called for a suspension of wind power projects off the coast until federal and state governments conduct investigations to determine if activities are a “contributing factor in the recent whale deaths.”
The municipal leaders, who represent coastal communities that are reliant on beach tourism, said if a review determines wildlife is being impacted the projects should be halted completely.
“While we are not opposed to clean energy, we are concerned about the impacts these projects may already be having on our environment,” they wrote. “We again urge you to take action now to prevent future deaths from needlessly occurring on our shorelines.”
The request comes amid a rise in whale deaths on the eastern Atlantic coast, at least 10 of which have washed up on beaches in New Jersey and New York. Two weeks ago, a 35-foot humpback whale washed up on a beach along the New Jersey coastline.
February 28, 2023 — First a North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species, washed ashore in Virginia. Then a humpback floated onto a beach in New Jersey. Not long afterward, a minke whale, swept in on the morning tide, landed on the Rockaway Peninsula in New York City.
And that was in just a single week this month.
In all, 23 dead whales have washed ashore along the East Coast since early December, including 12 in New Jersey and New York, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The pace of the deaths is worrisome to federal scientists, even if the total numbers are below some prior years.
Late Monday, the Coast Guard spotted another whale floating south of the Ambrose shipping channel, between New York and New Jersey; two teams from New York located the animal and determined that it was a humpback, but it was not clear where it might wash ashore.
Most of the fatalities have been humpbacks, and post-mortem examinations have suggested that ship strikes are likely the cause of many of the deaths.
February 28, 2023 — In stark contrast to its do-nothing approach to holding lease sales for offshore oil and gas exploration, the Biden administration has mounted an aggressive push to speed along the development of offshore wind farms in the federally-owned waters of the United States. But that effort is now facing pushback from a rising number of stakeholders, even as a series of mysterious whale deaths along the Atlantic coast has raised concerns about potential negative impacts on marine life from the projects.
By now, most Americans are likely aware of the increasing number of whales that have been found grounded on Atlantic beaches, some of which lie adjacent to offshore wind projects already under development. At least 10 whales have died in such events along the coasts of New York and New Jersey in recent months, leading to speculation that noise and other impacts arising from offshore wind-related activities might be the cause. Increasing public concerns over the whale deaths led 30 New Jersey mayors last week to call for a moratorium on further offshore wind activities pending additional studies to assess possible cause and effect.
While no conclusive linkage between the projects and the marine mammal deaths has been scientifically established, the controversy is leading some to wonder why the same environmental groups that have traditionally urged a cautious approach to oil and gas projects to protect marine life have failed to raise similar objections to the offshore wind activities. This apparent lack of concern seems especially questionable given that some of the whale deaths have been among American right whales, an endangered species consisting of just 340 remaining individuals.
February 24, 2023 — Representative Chris Smith of New Jersey is asking the Government Accountability Office to scrutinise the US Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Marine Fisheries Service’s process of environmental reviews of proposed offshore wind projects.
On 21 February, the Marine Mammal Commission, an independent government agency, issued a statement: “Despite several reports in the media, there is no evidence to link these strandings to offshore wind energy development.”
Federal agencies have previously said that 40% of the carcasses examined showed evidence of vessel strikes or entanglement with fishing gear.
February 23, 2023 — An independent scientific agency that advises the federal government on policies that could impact marine mammals said there is no evidence linking site preparation work for offshore wind farms with a number of whale deaths along the U.S. East Coast.
In a statement released Tuesday, the Marine Mammal Commission became the third federal agency to reject a link between the deaths and the offshore wind energy industry, despite a growing narrative among offshore wind opponents that probing the ocean floor to prepare for wind turbine projects is killing whales.
Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said there is no evidence linking offshore wind development with whale deaths.
The commission said 16 humpback whales and at least one critically endangered North Atlantic right whale have washed ashore dead on the East Coast this winter.
February 23, 2023 — In the latest jabs in the public debate over recent whale deaths along the Atlantic Coast, an independent government agency tasked by the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act to protect marine mammals, said Tuesday that offshore wind activities aren’t responsible for the recent spate of whale deaths here and elsewhere on the East Coast.
Eight whales have washed ashore dead in New Jersey since Dec. 1, while 23 have been spotted up and down the Atlantic Coast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Marine Mammal Commission said the deaths are part of the Humpback Whale Unusual Mortality Event (UME) declared by the National Marine Fisheries Service that began in 2016.
“Although these strandings have generated media interest and public scrutiny, humpback whale strandings are not new nor are they unique to the U.S. Atlantic coast. In fact, ten or more humpback whales have stranded each year during the UME, with a high of 34 in 2017,” the commission said.
February 21, 2023 — The offshore wind industry has a 40-ton problem on its hands.
Since early December, close to two dozen large whales have washed up on or near beaches on the US Atlantic coast, and about a third of the so-called strandings have occurred on the shores of New Jersey. It’s unclear what exactly is fueling the deaths, but an unlikely coalition of wind opponents, local environmental groups and conservative talk show hosts have zeroed in on offshore wind as the culprit. They argue that projects in development are disrupting marine life and contributing to the unusually high number of deceased whales.
February 21, 2023 — Hundreds of local residents in a coastal New Jersey town rallied over the weekend, calling for a federal moratorium on offshore wind energy development until the recent uptick in whale deaths was determined.
During the rally in Point Pleasant Beach, lawmakers, local officials and environmentalists expressed concern that offshore wind construction played a role in the deaths of at least 10 whales that have been discovered over the last two months in New Jersey and New York. Additional dead whales have been found beached in other East Coast states, including Maryland and Virginia, since December.
“Today, the whales are sending us a tragic message that demands transparency and accountability — both of which has been sorely missing from Governor Murphy’s plan to use New Jersey’s coast as the prime location for the offshore wind industry in the U.S.,” Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said during the rally on Sunday. “Questions and concerns raised by me and many others have gone unanswered concerning the unexplained deaths of at least 10 whales.”