Workers walk near a dead whale that washed ashore in Seaside Park N.J. on March 2, 2023. New Jersey officials say a wide array of research and preventive measures are either under way or planned soon to protect marine mammals during the construction and operation of offshore wind farms. Some people blame offshore wind preparation for a spate of whale deaths on the U.S. East Coast this winter, but three federal science agencies say there is no evidence linking the deaths to offshore wind preparation. AP Photo/Wayne Parry
As dead whales continue to wash ashore on the U.S. East Coast — and particularly the Jersey Shore — officials and academics are planning a wide array of monitoring and research aimed at preventing or minimizing harm to whales and other marine life during construction and operation of offshore wind farms.
A dead whale washed ashore Thursday in New Jersey, a day after another was found in New York amid a continuing wave of whale deaths along the East Coast. Twenty-five of the animals have died since Dec. 1, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A research and monitoring initiative announced last year by New Jersey environmental and utility regulators is launching numerous projects to establish a baseline of current ocean conditions, with plans for monitoring while wind farms are built and operated.
The $26 million program is funded — but not carried out — by the offshore wind companies Orsted and Atlantic Shores, which are required by the state to pay for the research as part of their projects.
Similar wind-related research is being carried out by states from Maine to South Carolina, officials said.
The research was announced well before a spate of whale deaths became politicized, with opponents of offshore wind blaming the deaths on site preparation work for wind farms off New Jersey and New York. Various elected officials are pushing for a pause or a total halt to offshore wind projects, citing the whale…
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