Three dolphins reportedly died along the New Jersey shoreline over the weekend.
Photographer Matthew Renk shared a video on Twitter Saturday of the marine mammals swimming in the waves of Sandy Hook Bay.
A rescue team from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, a nonprofit organization that helps in cases of stranding, was unable to save them.
“We picked them up,” Sheila Dean, the center’s director, told NJ.com. “They all perished on the beach.”
HUNDREDS OF NJ RESIDENTS PROTEST AGAINST GREEN ENERGY OVER ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
This incident comes on the heels of weeks of similar events, including several large whale strandings along the East Coast and a dozen in the New York-New Jersey area since December 1. 1, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A common bottlenose dolphin surfaces in the Potomac River near Reedville, Virginia on September 25, 2019. (Parker Michels-Boyce for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
New Jersey residents and some officials rallied at Point Pleasant Beach over the weekend, calling for a federal moratorium on offshore wind development until the reason for the recent spike in whale deaths was determined.
“Without serious, aggressive and independent analysis of the impact of these projects, they must be stopped,” said Republican Rep. Chris Smith. “We want the truth. We demand that we be heard and that our deep concerns are addressed, not trivialized, mocked or dismissed. The people of New Jersey deserve better.”
However, experts from NOAA and the Office of Ocean Energy Management have told reporters they have seen no evidence that offshore wind activity caused any of the whale deaths. Additionally, some environmental organizations and clean energy advocacy groups have said that it is irresponsible to assume that offshore wind is harming marine wildlife.
ANOTHER DEAD WHALE FOUND STRANDED ON NEW YORK BEACH IN ‘UNUSUAL MORTALITY EVENT’ ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST
Waves break in the Atlantic Ocean in front of the Manhattan skyline on September 8, 2018, as seen from Sandy Hook, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
“At this point, there is no evidence to support speculation that noise resulting from site characterization studies related to wind development could potentially cause whale mortality. There are no specific links between recent great whale mortality and the studies currently underway for the development of offshore wind energy”. NOAA said in FAQ.
government Phil Murphy’s office told Fox News Digital in a statement Tuesday that the administration takes every potential threat to the state’s marine ecosystems and mammals very seriously and will always base policy decisions on up-to-date science and evidence. The office said the notion that the administration and its federal counterparts have failed to adequately investigate whale deaths is “categorically false.”
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy gives a speech on the Hudson River Tunnel project on January 31, 2023 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Local and federal partners investigating this phenomenon have found “no evidence of specific links between recent whale mortality and ongoing surveys for offshore wind development,” according to Assistant Press Secretary Bailey Lawrence.
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Fox News Digital’s Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.