'Alarming' increase in whale deaths blamed on wind energy projects: 'Unprecedented in the last half-century'

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Conservation group calls out wind energy projects for causing whale deaths

Meghan Lapp of the Center for Sustainable Fisheries discusses an alarming uptick in whale deaths allegedly caused by offshore wind energy projects.

A humpback whale carcass washed ashore on a New Jersey beach Monday, making it the ninth carcass to wash ashore in the Northeast in the last two months and begging questions as to why the string of deaths began.

Conservation group Clean Ocean Action believes offshore wind energy projects are to blame.

"This alarming number of deaths is unprecedented in the last half-century," the group stated, adding, "The only unique factor from previous years is the excessive scope, scale and magnitude of offshore wind powerplant activity in the region."

Meghan Lapp, the secretary of Center for Sustainable Fisheries, said Wednesday that she has no doubt that the wind energy projects are to blame.

DEAD HUMPBACK WHALE WASHES UP ON NJ BEACH, 9TH STRANDING ALONG NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY COAST IN 2 MONTHS

The dead humpback whale, measuring 24 feet long, washed ashore in Manasquan, New Jersey, on Monday. (Point Pleasant Mayor Paul Kanitra)

"What I think is important for the public to understand is that this is not unprecedented when it comes to offshore wind. In the U.K., during the height of their offshore wind activity in 2018, 1,000 whales died and washed up on U.K. beaches. and, when people started to make the connection between offshore wind and dead whales, the government, the media and the offshore wind industry quashed it and people began to think, ‘Well, this is just normal.’ It is not normal," she said.

Lapp said Taiwanese environmental groups raised awareness about the problem in their own country as well when whales started washing up "dead and dead."

"One of them was still alive. It was swimming in circles because it was deaf and that, I do believe, is what is happening here." she added.

THIRD DEAD WHALE FOUND MILES FROM OFFSHORE WIND FARM IN LESS THAN A WEEK

Wind turbines in Atlantic City, N.J. Locals in nearby communities have come out in opposition to the construction of similar offshore developments. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)

"NOAA is not taking any internal samples of the ears of these animals to determine if the offshore wind activity is causing this because a deaf whale is a dead whale."

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), "marine mammals, including whales, use underwater sound as their primary way to communicate and access their environment.

"Sound is critical for communication, and important for navigation, finding food and avoiding predators."

HUMPBACK WHALE WASHES UP ON MARYLAND SHORE

Lapp said there are thousands of turbines planned for the U.S. East Coast.

A massive whale washed ashore on Long Island, New York Monday, authorities said. Several dead whales have wash ashore along the East Coast in recent months.  (Fox New York )

"They are going geotechnical surveying of the ocean floor. They have equipment that is emitting intense sound at the floor of the ocean because they want to tell, 100 feet deep into the sea floor, what kind of sediment it is so they can drive pilings.

"As these survey boats are going, there have been over 100 offshore wind survey vessels approved by NOAA to harass marine mammals of over 10,000 survey days on the East Coast of the U.S."

Lapp warned that if whales cannot hear, they can be hit by ships and become disoriented.

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On their website, Clean Ocean Action called for the Biden administration to order a "thorough, transparent investigation" into the whale deaths with "independent, third-party scientist oversight."

They also called for a stop to all offshore in-water activity by the wind industry and any planned projects relevant to the crisis.