Clean Ocean Action is leading several ocean advocacy groups in calling on President Biden to do something about the unprecedented six endangered dead whales that washed up on beaches in the New Jersey/New York region in 33 days
Letter to Biden
In a letter calling for immediate steps to address the environmentally harmful trend, the letter is demanding an immediate and fully transparent investigation into the whale deaths by federal agencies mandated by law to protect marine mammals. Especially those that are an endangered species. A hard stop on all existing offshore wind industry geotechnical and development activities and a halt to any new, planned, or pending offshore wind development permitting activities, including new solicitations.
Clean Ocean Action is also asking that the investigation they demand be undertaken with independent oversight by qualified, independent scientists to ensure rigorous scientific scrutiny and peer review.
Sounding the Alarm
“The wave of dead whales is the ocean sounding the alarm,” said Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, “and we must heed the warning.”
“These tragic multiple deaths of mostly young, endangered whales are of no apparent cause. However, the only new activity in the ocean is the unprecedented concurrent industrial activity by over 11 companies in the region’s ocean, which allows the harassment and harm of tens of thousands of marine mammals. Moreover, federal and state agencies have been recklessly fast-tracking offshore wind development projects. These three coinciding factors raise suspicions, and a responsible and reasonable response is the action plan for which we are calling,” Zipf added.
Review of Permits
Clean Ocean Action reviewed the federally issued and pending requests by companies allowed to harass and harm marine mammals just for offshore wind energy development activities off the New York and New Jersey coast. Companies have requested permission to harm tens of thousands of marine mammals, including threatened, endangered, and otherwise protected species through requests for Incidental Take Authorizations (ITAs) and Incidental Take Regulations (ITR) by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). According to the non-profit organization founded by Zipf, there are 11 active, 5 current, and 18 previously issued and expired IHA and ITR authorizations in the ocean off the NY/NJ coast.
That means, she said, “there are more than 157,328 marine mammals offshore wind companies have been given the green light to harm, harass, injure and kill for current and pending offshore wind projects. “
Area of Concern
Until the investigation is complete, the groups are also calling for a halt to all ongoing offshore wind survey boat and pre-construction and construction activities within the ocean realm between Cape May, and Montauk, NY, and demanding a full review of all offshore wind projects’ survey boat data by state and federal agencies and legislators in addition to review by an independent third-party panel of experts.
Finding Dead Whales
The groups’ demands come after a 30-foot humpback whale washed ashore on Atlantic City’s Georgia Avenue beach early Saturday morning, the second in two weeks in Atlantic City and the third in the last month in the same area. Another young humpback whale washed up on Atlantic City’s Chelsea Ave. beach on December 23, and a third 30-foot humpback was found on Strathmere beach in early December.
An infant sperm whale, 12-feet long, was found dead on the beach in Keansburg Dec. 5th; an adult 31 foot long humpback female was found in n Amagansett, NY, on Dec 6th; and a 30-foot long sperm whale was found on New York’s Rockaway Beach on Dec 12th. In addition, a dead dolphin, possibly short-beaked, washed ashore last week on Sandy Hook’s s Plum Island beach.
Causation?
Offshore wind developers have been employing multiple geotechnical survey vessels off the coast while awaiting permit approvals for large-scale offshore wind power plants. When completed, hundreds of 1,000-foot-tall wind turbine generators will be built in the ocean along with associated substations and thousands of miles of undersea cables.
The geotechnical survey boats use sea-floor characterization through high-level focused sound pulses in large areas of the ocean floor. Many whales hear and communicate in those frequencies and use of sonar at higher levels has been known to have harmful impacts on whales, deafening them which can lead to starvation and death.
Reporting
Offshore wind energy developers are required to provide regular reports to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) detailing whale protection methods and interactions. Public reports are required in NJDEP and NJBPU orders; however, it is unclear whether any of this information or data has been made public or available by any other means.
How to Help
Clean Ocean Action invites organizations to sign-onto the letter to President Biden and will send the President a rolling list of supporters. Zipf said the group will continue to take actions at the local, state, and federal levels to continue the call for a comprehensive, scientific, independent, peer-reviewed pilot study to assess the true costs and benefits and environmental consequences of offshore wind before massive industrialization occurs.
For further information or to join the action, contact Kari Martin, Advocacy Campaign Manager for Clean Ocean Action, 49 Avenel Boulevard, Long Branch, NJ 07740 or call
732.872.0111 , or visit www.CleanOceanAction.org or citizens@cleanoceanaction.org
