TOMS RIVER, NJ – Whales and dolphins have been washing up at the Jersey Shore at an alarming rate since December of last year, but Governor Phil Murphy doubled down this week, insisting it is not related to an off-shore wind energy sonar survey.
The survey being conducted off the coast of New Jersey is mapping the sea floor ahead of a massive off-shore wind energy farm championed by the governor. He cited a Rutgers University Q&A session to back up his position, calling any counterarguments to his own beliefs as misinformation.
“As disinformation continues to spread, scientific experts led by @rutgers_rucool explain there is no evidence linking whale mortalities to any one specific factor, including offshore wind development,” Murphy tweeted this week.
The Rutgers survey, however, provided no concrete evidence regarding the cause of the current mass stranding event.
Although the U.S. east coast has experienced a seven-year uptick in whale and dolphin strandings, the spike in New Jersey is irregular and, according to NOAA data, is a drastic increase over the past seven years of data.
Politicians and some environmentalists at the Jersey Shore are asking the governor to halt the survey work until a scientific investigation into the mass stranding event can be studied.
Speaking out about the wind project is also not in Rutger’s best interest. Orsted, the developer of the wind farm project, partnered with Rutgers University.
“Ørsted US Offshore Wind will support academic research activities related to offshore wind at Rutgers University under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed today,” the college announced in May of 2019.