An ugly start to a frigid Sunday morning on the border of Ventnor and Atlantic City.
Another dead marine mammal has washed up on the beach. This time, a lifeless dolphin. The second dead dolphin in the past 3 weeks.
Marine mammal deaths growing far too common along the Jersey shore.
Foreign wind companies continue plans for building massive windfarms a few miles off our Downbeach coastline.
What we found most disturbing on the beach? We were told to ‘stop taking pictures’. Watch video.
Then we watch as ACFD EMS covered the front of the dead dolphin with a towel. Why would they do that?
Just then, the MMSC drove up in their white truck.
Marine Mammal Stranding Center to the rescue.
MMSC didn’t seem too happy when multiple journalists / bloggers and local residents took pics and video of this potential marine mammal crime scene.
Another boat strike?
Press of Atlantic City not likely to cover this wind scam / marine mammal story.
All three Downbeach mayors still remain quiet. There’s free wind money on the line.
Still waiting for comments / remarks from AC Mayor Marty Small and Ventnor Mayor, Lance Landgraf.
These people are trying hard to cover up the dirty business of the effects of the sonar surveying. This must be stopped. Pure and simple evil.
Mimi, we agree!
Cindy… I agree with issues with our marine life… this is off topic but your name caught my attention.. you have have both my maiden name and our family name and spelled correctly too. I wonder if we have a connection?
There are no windmills and no sonar. It is due to the marine traffic. Wake up!
Thank you. It is so OBVIOUS, but these people have an agenda!
There is no plausible reason except trying to downplay the death of the dolphin. Certainly not waiting to notify next of kin.
Lived at shore for 60 yrs, BOATS not hitting WHALES or DOLPHINS.
Ocean belongs to all of us. I DONT RECALL BEING ASKED IF I WANTED IT. (Wind Turbines)
I LOVE THE BEACH. YOU MADE IT A CEMETERY.
I look with sadness and fear of what other magnificent creatures big or little will be dead on the shore.
My memories of THE BEACH ARE NOW DEAD ANIMALs.
Pamela, we are living this nightmare! Just wait til summer!
Because many marine mammals use acoustics as an important way to detect prey, to communicate or to orient themselves, a functional hearing system is of uttermost importance to them.
If communication sounds are masked by anthropogenic noise, they may not be able to hear calls of conspecifics to find mating opportunities or food. This can potentially play a major role in individual or species survival.
Noise can also disturb the animals’ natural behavior, make them leave their known habitat to find more silent locations, interrupt feeding, change diving behavior, maybe even cause reproductive impairment through acute and chronic stress, and lead to temporal or permanent changes in distribution.
Loud continuous or impulsive noise can damage hearing at certain frequencies, temporarily or permanently, which can result in failure to hear important signals.
Additionally, certain types of anthropogenic noise, like military sonar, can lead to death.
People need to know that dolphins and whales have been washing ashore for well over 50 years. It is just now that they are paying attention.
Not at these numbers. Are you affiliated with the MMSC (I notice MMSC at the end of your name?), if so, you know better than anyone how unusual these numbers are, so why are you saying this?
I am the director. If you go to our website you will see that in previous years we have had many more dolphins and whales ashore.
Do you have statistics available verifying that the numbers of marine mammals dying since OSW has been manipulating our waters has not increased? If I am incorrect, I’d like to educate myself. Perhaps you’d also like to address, as the director, why your representative was curt and rude to bystanders in the video? They were not impeding her in any way that I could see, and on whose authority is she telling people not to take photos. Her attitude was disappointing to see.
Our representative asked the crowd to back up so she could examine the dolphin and take data before transport to the state lab for necropsy.. The police told crowd to stop taking photos on their own, not at our direction. The crowd should have been further away than they were. Stranded animals carry disease, so it’s for the safety of the public.
Stranding statistics are on our web page http://www.mmsc.org/current-ceracean-data. You will see that there have been higher numbers of cetaceans ashore in previous years. All are documented and necropsied when possible. Data is given to NOAA FISHERIES, who catalog all stranding of marine mammals. Although it appears there is an increase in deaths, there have been years where we have seen more. I founded the center with my husband 46 years ago, so I have witnessed every animal ashore since 1978. We are awaiting the scientific proof from the samples we took from whales. Please refer to our web for more answers.
Really ?? Even People wash up in a 50 year period. So, If 240+ people washed up in a matter of months ,would that be normal ??? These creatures have been living in that Ocean for hundreds of years & never have that many been washed up from any cause ! Wake up & stop being a sheep !!
Sheila, the evidence is clear. There is a direct correlation with whale/marine mammal deaths with sonar/seabed mapping by the offshore wind developers.
The video link below is narrated by Dr. Bob Stern, a former Director of the Office of Environmental Science at the US DOE. I think he knows a bit about what he is talking about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZPfJUYY6SE
His group just filed a Notice of Intent to sue the Department of Commerce, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on their failure to adhere to the Endangered Species Act with respect to protecting critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, and other marine animals.
To say to someone who has been enjoying these beaches for over 60 years that they just never “noticed” the deaths before is just rude and unconscionable. They never noticed before because the numbers were just NOT there! It is so overwhelming now.
The mission of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center is the rescue, rehabilitation and release of marine mammals and sea turtles. If you were truly interested in rescuing these poor sea creatures, then you would stand up for what is right.
The evidence is apparent. Stop defending the villains. I can’t understand why you would rehabilitate an animal just to release them to the ocean to face their impending doom.
Not defending anyone, just showing the statistics from previous years. No one seemed to care when we had hundreds of dolphins ashore in 1987 and 2013.
What were the causes of deaths for the dolphins during those years you mention? If it was an illness specific to the mammal there is little we can do, but these deaths, I believe, are caused by man and we certainly can do something about them. I understand your organization has been under fire the last few years, and rumors are swirling about your involvement with OSW. If these rumors are untrue, I am truly sorry for that, but your representative on the beach at the dolphin death was snarky, and you seem defensive. Perhaps better transparency (i.e. as director stating MMSC’s stance on OSW) would allow the public insight into where MMSC stands on the value or detriment of OSW to marine mammals. Are any of your employees or members of the board of directors, or sources of income connected in any way to any of the companies connected to OSW? Has MMSC received, or plan to receive, any kind of financial benefit from companies affiliated with OSW? Donations? Grants?
Just a bunch of lies. I live here and there has not been this many washed up mammals and you can make up and fudge all the statistics you want. The wind turbines need to be stopped. We don’t want them and don’t need them. We should have a vote on what happens in our shores especially when it’s harming mammals and God knows what else it could be destroying.
I don’t know where you live, but I live here.
You are really incorrect. This is outrageous!!
Joe, we have been trying to get the dead marine mammals’ ears tested since 2022
for this exact reason. Thank you for your educated post!
You can see results of the dolphin ear testing from 2023 and 2024 on the web page mmsc.org/current-cetacean-data. It’s been there for months.
So this has been happening for the 32 years I’ve lived here and even though I spend a lot of time on the beach during all seasons I never noticed….thanks for clearing up how unobservant myself and fellow locals have been….come on sheila find us an answer dont call us stupid.
Statistics don’t lie. It’s on our website and you can ask NOAA fisheries as we report all animals to them since our founding in 1978.
Correct. Statistics don’t lie. Have you studied the Dr. Bob Stern video with my link above where he goes through the statistics and the vessel locations? DIRECT correlation. The agencies have no other response other than “there is no evidence that our surveys are causing these whale and mammal deaths.” Seriously, that’s the best they can come up with and we are supposed to believe that? With the millions of dollars spent on studies for offshore wind?
Also, another point….. to say vessel entanglement is the cause of death is misleading. How do you differentiate vessel entanglement that is caused by accident and one caused because these poor mammals who depend on sound for survival and communication (per John Bishop’s response above) are driven insane and completely disoriented. If any of us heard a driving, constant sound with no end, we would show erratic behavior and bang into everything in our path with no defense.
Here is another video to watch. Thrown to the Wind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUONUh0A6Z8
This is the one minute trailer. You can find the whole video on YouTube. Listen to what the mammals have to deal with constantly.
So agreed, statistics don’t lie.
Direct correlation doesn’t mean causation… not matter how many times you repeat the reference about correlation. That’s not opinion, it’s a statistical fact Sherri.
NOAA, really? You really expect us to trust their data after observing them at meetings regarding OSW? They are part of the problem, not the answer to the problem. I have always loved what you do, and felt proud that you were in New Jersey. It saddens me more then I can say to now fear your organization is NOT a protector of marine mammals in our ocean. I hope my suspicions are wrong. I want them to be wrong, but the numbers are just not adding up. Also, given the propensity for OSW companies to move into an area, throw around lots of money to local town governments, colleges, etc., I would think your organization would be one of the first they’d want to lock down. Did they approach MMSC? If so, what was the outcome? Help us understand your stance here.
“Statistics don’t lie, but liars use statistics.”
Frankly, I don’t believe Sheila. Sheila is a shill for big wind. It’s very sad to realize that the people you thought were doing good things are the very people who are covering up marine mammal deaths. There are probably some very well intentioned volunteers and true believers in the ostensible mission at MMSC but it’s a quasi govt agency in service of the climate agenda.
Hello pot, have you met the kettle? The guy whose partisan agenda is funded massively by big oil and gas is complaining about and agenda. Thank goodness oil and gas so SO safe (sarcasm font).
Listen ive known Sheila and Bob since I was a little kid. They were doing what they do long before anyone seemed to care. And they made it work with very little money or help. They did it because they cared deeply for these animals and the education of people. I spent a lot of time with them and saw this first hand. They are good people and certainly are not liars or ‘shills for big wind’. I can tell you Sheila has probably forgotten more than you will ever know in regards to these animals. You are foolish not to listen to what she says and far worse to call her character into question.
I notice none of my direct and pointed questions have been addressed by Sheila, very disappointing. As far as your comment that statistics don’t lie, they can and often are manipulated and interpreted to fit one’s agenda.
Born and raised along these beaches. In my 64 years, there’s NEVER been any time comparable to the last couple as far as marine mammal fatalities are concerned.
It is more than well documented that these mammals become disoriented by the sonar blasting that’s been going on to make way for giant turbines.
Why else would the government allow so many “takes” (deaths) if what they’re allowing these foreign countries to do didn’t cause these deaths?
These multi-billion dollar foreign companies have been given permission to kill thousands of marine mammals- even endangered ones!
I fully agree with Kath.they are trying to bamboozle the voters- for Greed.Carol Hoeger Posch