7/25/2023 0 Comments Boot hide out nj![]() “Really the biggest question is: are we seeing more whale strandings, or are we seeing more whales, and strandings are occurring?” says DiGiovanni.īut another theory has been circulating online and on conservative talk shows-that the offshore wind industry, which has been conducting work off the coast of New York and New Jersey as it prepares to install massive wind turbines, is responsible for the whale deaths. But whale sightings have also been on the rise, potentially indicating that the overall population has increased. Offshore Wind Farm Could Be a Lifeline for Struggling New England Citiesįinding such whale bodies used to be relatively rare, but starting in 2007, whales started washing up more regularly, says Rob DiGiovanni, the chief scientist at the New York-based Atlantic Marine Conservation Society. MMSC and other groups that collaborate on the necropsies then forward that information to the federal government, which provides some of their funding. If a whale had broken bones from being hit by a ship, for instance, the necropsy can help examiners tell if the ship strike occurred before or after the whale died. ![]() If it bursts, it can splatter anyone standing nearby with whale guts. In humpback whales, gasses from the whale’s putrefying innards often begin to swell the sack under the whale’s mouth. A trailer parked in front of the MMSC’s offices houses the necessary equipment: smocks and boots, along with large knives and hooks for pulling off layers of cetacean skin and blubber to examine the animal and take tissue samples. It involves sourcing backhoes or other construction equipment to maneuver the school bus-sized animals, taking measurements, and then, when possible, undertaking difficult necropsies. The work to actually examine those carcasses is grueling and tedious. That’s brought down the ire of many people opposed to offshore wind on small animal welfare organizations like MMSC for supposedly hiding the truth of what killed those whales. But evidence to support those claims hasn’t turned up. Those deaths have become a focal point in the clean energy culture war, with conservative media commentators blaming them on preliminary site-mapping work for offshore wind developments. Eight large whales, including sperm whales and humpbacks, have washed up in the area since December. ![]() And in recent months, whales have been washing up on these shores with alarming frequency. “He was very frightening.”Īlong with picking up sick baby seals and dolphins, the MMSC helps to carry out examinations on the bodies of dead whales when they wash up on the shores of New York and New Jersey in order to collect scientific data, and hopefully help determine a cause of death. ![]() “He just starts, ‘I want to know, I demand to know,’” says Shelia Dean, 75, the group’s director. In late January, someone left the door unlocked, and a man burst into the office and approached the secretary. Staff members contacted local police, and they started locking the doors to the group’s office. ![]()
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