‘Never seen anything remotely like this’ in half a century: NJ fishing pros warn offshore wind killing ocean life
July 16th, 2023 – Lewis, Western Isles: The terrible sight of 55 Pilot whales washed up dead and dying on a remote Scottish beach caused a deep sense of sadness that resonated around the world.
July 20th, 2023: A Minke whale is found dead on the very same stretch of sand.
It’s clearly no coincidence that the whales perished in the same location, but what was the cause?
Although theories abound as to why these great mammals stranded, there is one glaringly obvious possibility that most people do not want to face – that noise caused by nearby windfarm survey work affected the whales’ delicate sonar, disorienting them and leading to their demise.
Scotland’s wild isles and the march of industry
This latest mortality event once again raises the question of whether it is ever appropriate or acceptable to construct such massive industrial developments in unspoiled natural environments, in the midst of irreplaceable habitat for some of the world’s most threatened wildlife.
The answer is surely a resounding ‘no’.
The wind farm in question, somewhat romantically called “Spiorad na Mara” (it’s Gaelic for ‘Spirit of the Sea’), is to be constructed in a pristine marine setting just a few kilometers off the coast of the beautiful Isle of Lewis, in Scotland’s Western Isles.
Survey work, on behalf of the wind farm’s owner, is being carried out ahead of construction. Some connection between these surveys and the recent spate of whale deaths wouldn’t be surprising to many, similar cetacean mortality events have been occurring around the world, often coinciding with wind farm operations. Indeed it is openly acknowledged in planning applications for offshore wind, and in the accompanying environmental assessments, that cetaceans are likely to be harmed in the course of surveying and constructing these controversial developments.
Sonar, a ‘most plausible and likely trigger’ for strandings
It was established several years ago that sonar technology, similar to that employed by the wind farm survey vessels, could be attributed as the cause for mass whale strandings, including one well documented event involving 100 whales in Madagascar in 2008. This is because cetaceans rely on their own natural sonar to navigate and locate food.
Read More: More Dead Whales Near Wind Projects in U.S. and Scotland
