Is anyone else tracking the whale situation in NJ?

Chris(NJ)

Chris(NJ)

Well-Known Member
I checked the surf cams after work today to see if I wanted to run down and get out there for a bit and saw the crowds. I knew something was up. Camera panned left and there it is...I believe the 9th dead whale in the past couple months now. Washing up on the beaches left and right. Good reason to believe it's the offshore wind turbine projects that are causing the damage. I've sent correspondence to the 4th district congressman Chris Smith. Also sending to Congressman Van Drew (R-NJ) and Congressman Harris (R-MD). These seem to be the most vocal advocates for the problem. Not sure what else to do. IMG_4128.jpegIMG_4129.jpeg
 
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Chris(NJ) said:
I checked the surf cams after work today to see if I wanted to run down and get out there for a bit and saw the crowds. I knew something was up. Camera panned left and there it is...I believe the 9th dead wale in the past couple months now. Washing up on the beaches left and right. Good reason to believe it's the offshore wind turbine projects that are causing the damage. I've sent correspondence to the 4th district congressman Chris Smith. Also sending to Congressman Van Drew (R-NJ) and Congressman Harris (R-MD). These seem to be the most vocal advocates for the problem. Not sure what else to do. View attachment 207294View attachment 207295
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I did hear about this being the possible cause of the disproportionate increase in beached whales since the survey for wind farming has started. One of the people speaking about this mentioned the survey being like carpet bombing the ocean floor. Not sure if that was supposed to be literally of figuratively speaking of some sound emission (we've been told for years that sound pollution was largely responsible for whale beaching, so still bad). If this was the case I would say that any organization claiming to advocate for the environment and not yelling and screaming about it has lost any credibility, at least in my eyes.
 
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serviceguy said:
I did hear about this being the possible cause of the disproportionate increase in beached wales since the survey for wind farming has started. One of the people speaking about this mentioned the survey being like carpet bombing the ocean floor. Not sure if that was supposed to be literally of figuratively speaking of some sound emission (we've been told for years that sound pollution was largely responsible for whale beaching, so still bad). If this was the case I would say that any organization claiming to advocate for the environment and not yelling and screaming about it has lost any credibility, at least in my eyes.
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Yea, my understanding is that the boats send down SONAR, or some variation of that, to test ocean floor stability and anything that gets in the way is being killed.

I've surfed manasquan inlet since I was 13 (that's 30 years now, but who's counting). So I'm old enough to remember surfing that spot with garbage literally floating alongside us as we paddled for waves. But I have NEVER seen anything like what is going on now.
 
Purely speculation on my part, but a few years ago, when they first started "surveying;" the fluke basically took a hike, mid season. Vamos. There, and then gone, within a week or two, end-of-summer. Water temp changes were minimal during that interval.

I realize fluke are not whales, but to me it's not too much of a stretch to infer that sea creatures might be adversely affected by indiscriminate high intensity audio bombardment.
 
Sometimes common sense is all it takes to figure out what's going on. I think your speculation is likely very accurate.
 
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Chris(NJ) said:
Sometimes common sense is all it takes to figure out what's going on. I think your speculation is likely very accurate.
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LOL, unfortunately anyone who has kept their finger on the pulse of the local saltwater fisheries management recently knows how uncommon common sense is, and how seldom it is applied.

Case in-point: Lately there is talk of enacting speed limits on the ocean, during periods of high whale activity, to (seemingly) cut down on vessel strikes.
W. T. F. who makes this crap up?
 
The most up-to-date info I have was reported by Clean Ocean Action.

They stated the body would be transported today and the necropsy will be performed at the county facility before being disposed in the landfill. Necropsy teams, Marine Mammal Stranding Center and Atlantic Marine Conservation Society arrived at 8am today and the 35'10" Humpback body finally made it onto the transport truck at 14:00.


Not confident they'll release a cause of death. But I'll keep the thread updated if I hear more. And hopefully don't report on another one between now and then.
 
Oh, but local News12 was apparently giving some exposure. My neighbor texted me today saying she watched their report on the recent uptick in dead whales washing ashore.
 
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