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An independent government agency focused on the protection and conservation of marine mammals said this week there is no evidence linking the recent string of dead whales washing ashore to wind farm development.
This winter, 16 whales have washed up dead along the Atlantic coast in places like Assateague Island in Maryland, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Long Island, New York.
A beached humpback whale was found on Long Island, where it soon died. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The standings are part of what the National Marine Fisheries Service, or NMFS, call the Humpback Whale Unusual Mortality Event, which started in 2016.
DOZENS OF NJ MAYORS CALL FOR IMMEDIATE OFFSHORE WIND MORATORIUM AFTER LATEST WHALE DEATHS
The Marine Mammal Commission said in a statement posted to its website on Tuesday that 40% of the whales were examined at necropsy and showed evidence that a ship struck them, or they got entangled in fishing gear.
The commission also said these strandings are nothing new, and they are not isolated to the Atlantic coast.
According to the commissioner, at least 10 humpback whales have stranded each year during the UME, though in 2017 the highest number of 34 were recorded stranded.
A dead humpback whale lies in the surf in Brigantine N.J., on Jan. 13, 2023. Environmental groups held a news conference Tuesday, Jan 17, 2023, in neighboring Atlantic City to support offshore wind power development and decry what they call the false narrative that offshore wind site preparation work is responsible for seven whale deaths in New Jersey and New York in little over a month. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
What scientists have found is the number of humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine is increasing, and the younger whales are moving to the Atlantic coast, where they are vulnerable to being struck by ships.
UPTICK IN DEAD WHALES ALONG EAST COAST SPARKS INTENSE DEBATE AMONG ENVIRONMENTALISTS OVER OFFSHORE WIND
Many people, though, say wind farm development is the cause of the whale…
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