SEA ISLE CITY – The March 21 stranding and eventual death of eight dolphins on a Sea Isle City beach have intensified calls for a moratorium on offshore wind preconstruction survey work.
The high rate of stranded sea mammals washing ashore in New York and New Jersey since early December 2022 is creating a presumptive case among many in the public that some connection exists to the wind farm initiatives underway off the county’s coast.
Sea Isle officials and first responders turned out at 52nd Street due to reports of stranded dolphins on the morning of March 21. Staff from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, in Brigantine, also responded.
Two dolphins died on the beach and the other six were euthanized based on the recommendation of a center veterinarian following an examination. The dolphins were transported to the New Jersey State Lab for necropsies.
Since December 2022, at least 23 whales have come ashore along the east coast, with 12 in New York and New Jersey. Just a week before the Sea Isle incident, two common dolphins died on a sand bar in Sandy Hook Bay. The spike in sea mammal fatalities has captured public attention, with many demanding that offshore wind work be halted.
Cape May County held an information session in Ocean City March 15, where hundreds of county residents turned out to express their opposition to the state’s wind farm initiative, with many saying the speed with which the project is moving ahead is creating environmental and economic harm to shore communities.
The very next day, U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) held a congressional hearing in Wildwood, further magnifying the concerns about what Van Drew called wind farm industrialization.
Following the Sea Isle dolphin fatalities, Sen. Michael Testa (R-1st) reiterated his call for an offshore wind work stoppage, saying wisdom dictated a pause “until the proponents can assure our region that these projects are not playing a part in these incidents.”
Van Drew introduced a congressional resolution calling for a moratorium March 22. The resolution seeks to require more comprehensive investigations examining “the impact to the environment, relevant maritime industries, and national defense before offshore wind projects can be leased or constructed.”
The resolution was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a statement this week, claiming that offshore wind activities have been “deemed safe for marine mammals.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has said post-mortem evidence suggests that ship strikes are the leading cause of the fatalities.
The Danish firm, Ørsted, developers of the Ocean Wind I and Ocean Wind II wind farms, said it completed offshore survey work in January and has no survey work going on now.
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) issued a statement on the dolphin beaching in Sea Isle.
LCV New Jersey Director Allison McLeod said, “As a former professional marine mammal observer with a background in marine science and biology, I am personally and professionally concerned with the ongoing marine mammal strandings off our coast, which began as early as 2016, well before exploration of offshore wind energy development.”
The LCV release goes on to say that “climate change is the biggest threat to marine life and our oceans. In order to protect all marine life, we must address our warming oceans, and offshore wind is part of the solution.”
Assemblyman Antwan McClellan (R-1st) disagrees, stating, “Work related to offshore wind projects is the primary difference in our waters and an investigation should be done as to why whales and dolphins are dying in alarming numbers.”
In Cape May County, each sea mammal fatality has increased the public pressure for a more definitive response from state and federal officials as to what is causing the spike in whale and dolphin deaths.
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
