The city will replace pilings at Gardner’s Basin this month, Mayor Marty Small Sr. said Monday, so boat tours and fishing boats will be able to have a complete summer season there. “We are confident the boats will be able to dock at the site by May,” Small said Monday. On March 24 and 31, the city sent letters to the businesses warning that “2023 seasonal operations under (your) Commercial Dock Agreement … for your Commercial Boat Slip must be suspended until the project is complete.” Video, >click to read< 13:32
Tag Archives: New Jersey
Cape May County to fight Ørsted, Ocean Wind 1, 2
“At first, the County of Cape May was interested in trying to work with Ørsted to find a way forward, perhaps with some modifications to the project to reduce visual, environmental and economic impacts,” Commission Director Len Desiderio said in a release issued by the county. “We would like to see land-based offshore wind facilities and supply-chain infrastructure built here in New Jersey, since that would create good opportunities for trade workers and others. But we cannot sit quietly by as hundreds of windmills are installed off our beaches as state and federal government agencies ignore our legitimate and serious concerns. “As time went by, it became clear that Ørsted was not interested in finding any compromise,” Desiderio said. “It is clear to us now that the approach among this foreign corporation and their partners in the state and federal governments is to build these things as fast as they can despite the potential for devastating environmental and economic impacts. >click to read< 09:42
Offshore wind moves forward amid calls for marine life studies
The offshore wind sector is taking shape every day in New Jersey while calls continue for a pause in activity to learn more about whether any of the work is connected to whale and dolphin deaths along the state’s beaches. “Today’s actions by NJDEP represent significant milestones and critical steps that are needed to advance the state’s first offshore wind project and bring clean, reliable energy and the associated economic benefits to the region,” said Maddy Urbish, Ørsted’s head of government affairs and market strategy, New Jersey. Ocean Wind 1 still needs additional state and local approvals, as well as clearance from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, before construction can begin. So far, the work has centered on ocean floor mapping using sonar technology. Those calling for the pause point to this work as a potential link, saying that the sonar can disorient marine life. >click to read< 11:31
Wind project scope ‘staggering’
It wasn’t “until the whales and the dolphins started washing up that people’s attention was able to focus” on the offshore wind farms, according to Cindy Zipf, and when people looked beyond the whales, they realized what is happening is “staggering.” “I don’t think ever in the history of mankind have we proposed to industrialize an ecosystem this fast and at this magnitude,” she said. Zipf is executive director of Clean Ocean Action, a coalition of groups dedicated to protecting the ocean. Zipf acknowledges the pace at which the plans are moving forward is making efforts to slow or stop them difficult. “It’s challenging considering how fast-tracked everything is and how limited the permitting process is. It’s kind of under the jurisdiction of two people to make it happen, President Biden and Gov. Murphy,” she said. “Hopefully as more is understood there will be some more caution but as it is right now the (state and federal) agencies are very enthusiastic.” >click to read< 16:29
Letter to Mads Nipper, CEO, Ørsted
Dear Mr. Nipper, We write as concerned citizens and residents of the State of New Jersey, U.S.A. Our groups total tens of thousands of volunteer citizen advocates including more than 500,000 signatories to various petitions supporting our efforts. The NJ Shore is a national treasure enjoyed by millions who live and work, visit and vacation here and have done so for generations. On behalf of all the good people who love and enjoy the NJ Shore and its communities, please treat this letter as public notice that: We oppose your company’s efforts to turn our ocean, coastal ecosystems, and shore communities into industrial electricity generation and transmission power plants; We will protect our shore communities, the environment and the lives and livelihoods of all species including the millions of us that reside, work, visit and vacation here against your thoughtless industrialization; We will not falter, and we will not stop opposing your developments. >click to read< 11:48
Where have all the dead whales gone? By Nils Stolpe, FishNet-USA
Beginning in December of last year and extending through most of the first quarter of 2023, New Jersey and New York beaches were inundated with abnormally high numbers of dead or dying whales and smaller marine mammals. These majestic creatures-though not so majestic when being pushed about willy-nilly by tides, wind, waves and various types of earth moving machines-have never expired in such large numbers in such publicly accessible locations in local residents’ memories. Perhaps coincidently, intensive hydroacoustic surveys to determine the suitability of potential sites for the construction of thousands of gigantic windmills and their supporting infrastructure (supposedly to help us all survive what is being sold as an imminent energy/climate crisis) were being committed offshore of the beaches where all of these marine mammal deaths and strandings have been concentrated. To us inveterate observers of that hunk of Atlantic Ocean real estate known as the New York Bight, and the critters that temporarily or permanently live there, and of the actions of the public agencies charged with-and entitled to tens of millions of taxpayer dollars each year to do so-administering the Endangered Species and the Marine Mammal Protection Acts, that surely hints at, at best, ineptitude at that’s ineptitude at a fairly advanced level. >click to read the article< 16:14
Ocean City, Wind Farm Developer Clash in Legal Fight
The Danish energy company Orsted, which plans to build the Ocean Wind project, filed a lawsuit in state Superior Court on May 4 demanding that Ocean City should grant the permits needed for the underground transmission line. In response to the lawsuit, Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian issued a statement strongly criticizing Orsted. “The lawsuit continues a pattern that Ocean Wind presumes the offshore wind project is a done deal and they will resort to any means to maintain their desired schedule,” Gillian said. >click to read< 14:50
Wind farms creating ‘death zone’ at sea says ex-Greenpeace boss
Drilling foundations for offshore wind turbines and sound pulses used to prepare for the 900-foot towers may be creating a “death zone” for whales, a former Greenpeace chief claims. Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace and its ex-president in Canada, believes the acoustic systems used by vessels surveying the ocean floor harm the marine mammals’ sense of hearing, risking their crucial ability to navigate, and leading to more dead whales washing up onshore. At least 36 “large” whales have washed up along the East Coast since Dec. 1, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. photos, >click to read< 07:51
N.J. GOP seeks wind projects halt to see if whales benefit
Four state senators hosted a online hearing about offshore wind energy generation and whale deaths, three weeks after the most recent East Coast whale death was reported and despite the assurances of most scientists and conservationists that there is no correlation. The two-hour hearing came a week after Democrats, who control the Legislature and the governorship, held a similar hearing and many of New Jersey’s major environmental groups said the greatest danger to whales is climate change, not offshore wind generation. “I’ve been labeled a climate change denier and a tin-foil hat wearer,” said Jim Hutchinson, managing editor of The Fisherman,,, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., who represents part of the Jersey Shore and who led last week’s Democratic-led forum, said pausing offshore wind projects wouldn’t prevent whale deaths. >click to read< 08:05
The New Green Activists Would Rather Save The Windmills Than Save The Whales
Save the whales. Once upon a time, that used to be the favorite mantra of environmental activists. Today, not so much. These days, it’s more chic to be into giant offshore wind turbines. And if dozens upon dozens of whales must be killed to make way for turbines along with their new mantra, “save the planet,” well, that’s just the price we must pay. Or so goes the current thinking among the green set. Scores of whale and dolphin carcasses have washed up along the East Coast in recent months, and particularly on New Jersey and New York-area beaches where no fewer than nine whales have washed ashore just since December. The evidence is not yet incontrovertible, but the deaths coincide with sonic testing in conjunction with massive wind turbine projects. >click to read< 08:28
Anti-wind farm petition hits 500,000 signatures
An online petition drive in opposition to offshore wind farms following the deaths of dozens of whales along the East Coast has now hit a milestone of 500,000 signatures. Suzanne Hornick, an Ocean City resident and a founder of Protect Our Coast NJ, the independent grassroots organization that started the petition drive, said the goal is to collect a million signatures as a push continues to halt the wind farm projects. “Protect Our Coast NJ is absolutely thrilled that we have well over half a million signatures on our petition that was only started mid-January. Many of the signers are from states other than New Jersey up and down the East Coast,” Hornick said. “This is a wake-up call to every single politician. If a half a million people can come together against a single issue so quickly, imagine what we will be able to do going forward.” >click to read< 13:11
Panel of Democrats, environmental activists blame climate change for whale deaths
The gathering, held in an oceanfront conference room as a half-dozen dolphins frolicked in the ocean behind them, also strongly criticized a bill in the House of Representatives containing numerous incentives for oil and gas companies, and which eliminates several environmental protections currently in effect. It also was a retort to opponents of offshore wind development, who claim that preparation for wind farms off New Jersey and New York are killing whales along the U.S. East Coast. Numerous federal and state agencies say there is no evidence that the deaths are related to offshore wind survey work. At Monday’s event, Pallone said, “The science has not linked the whale deaths to offshore wind activities. Climate change is the biggest threat to marine mammals.” >click to read< 07:48
Congressman Van Drew: National Security is the Price We Will Pay
On April 17, Congressman Van Drew issued the following statement after the Pentagon sounded the alarms on how the development of offshore wind farms will affect our national security. “During my field hearing in South Jersey last month, my colleagues and I highlighted the adverse effects offshore wind development would have on various sectors and industries, from our environment to our national security, “said Congressman Van Drew. “These warnings can no longer be ignored. This President and this administration continue to disregard these valid concerns,,, >click to read< 08:06
‘License To Kill’ Whales, Dolphins Handed to Offshore Wind Power Companies in Biden’s Green Energy Push
Greenpeace launched its “Save the Whales” campaign on April 27, 1975. But in the ensuing years, Greenpeace has gone full Orwell. Greenpeace is no longer interested in saving the whales. It may actually be aiding and abetting the Biden administration and the offshore wind industry in killing whales supposedly to “save the planet.” The deaths are coincident, however, with an increase in activity by the offshore wind industry as it surveys locations to erect its turbines. As it turns out, the federal agency has actually issued permits to the offshore wind industry to kill whales, dolphins and even seals. And not just one or two members of the species. >click to read< 09:11
Gov. Murphy’s “Green” Policies Are Killing N.J. Wildlife
In 2019, Governor Murphy signed an executive order to massively increase New Jersey’s offshore wind dependency. Since then, the state has sold two massive contracts to build the state’s first offshore wind turbines, covering nearly 200,000 acres (covering a distance roughly the same length as Wildwood to Philadelphia) of ocean. As sonar testing began on these projects, whales started washing up on New Jersey beaches in record numbers unseen in fifty years. These die-offs, according to Gov. Murphy and the “experts,” are merely a coincidence — but you and I know better: this is all part of Governor Murphy’s energy disaster plan. >click to read< 10:05
Ignoring dead whales, NOAA proposes another site survey off New Jersey
“Damn the whales, full speed ahead” seems to be the offshore wind policy of Biden’s NOAA. They now propose to approve yet another site survey, just 10 miles off Atlantic City. These surveys are the top suspect for the recent wave of dead whales, centered on New Jersey. The site is a big one because the offshore wind project is huge. Phase 1 is a whopping 1,500 MW, which means over 100 monster turbine towers. The survey area is around 1,500,000 acres or an incredible 2,300 square miles. Ironically the project is called Atlantic Shores, which is where all the dead whales are washing up. More deeply, the Atlantic Shores Wind Project has yet to be approved and may never be. Hugely disruptive site surveys should not be authorized until the Project is approved. >click to read< 13:57
‘Tell us why’: Monmouth Commissioners call for investigation into surge of whale deaths
Monmouth County officials stood in the mist at Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park on Wednesday, where they gathered to call for an immediate stop to offshore wind energy work off New Jersey’s coast. Their announcement marked a new addition to a growing group of elected officials who are demanding answers on recent deaths among whales and dolphins across the region, and who allege offshore wind survey work is the cause. As of Wednesday afternoon, 10 whale deaths had been recorded along the Jersey Shore since Dec. 1. In addition, two separate pods of dolphins had stranded since early February on New Jersey beaches. Another three individual dead dolphins and one porpoise had washed ashore in separate strandings. >click to read< 16:47
Harsh Reaction to Atlantic City Move to Stop Boat Businesses
We “blew the whistle” this past Saturday, April 1, 2023 that the various boat businesses at Atlantic City, New Jersey’s Gardner’s Basin will not be able to open for business. The City of Atlantic City sent letters to the various business owners just days before the season was set to begin. Some of the business owners didn’t receive the letter until Saturday, April 1, 2023. The reaction from the community to this unwanted news has been understandably hyper negative towards the Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small administration. >click to read< 08:10
Jeff Van Drew, others make call to ‘save the whales’ in Ventnor
Standing next to a 30-square-foot sand drawing of a humpback whale and her calf, U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew and other speakers made a call to “save the whales” Sunday afternoon. Van Drew, R-2nd, and state Sen. Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic, headlined a half-dozen speakers who once again opposed proposals for wind turbines off the coast of New Jersey and other Eastern states, claiming the sonar testing has led to a rise in marine mammal deaths over the past four months. They spoke to about 500 people on the beach at Suffolk Avenue. “Those whales — and I don’t mean to sound corny — were a divine blessing from God to wake us the hell up and say we’ve got to do something. This is the real thing. We are really in trouble with this and we’ve got to fight,” Van Drew said. Video, and a pile of photos! >click to read< 21:22
Atlantic City, N.J. Tells Boat Businesses That They Can’t Operate
Last Spring, 2022 Atlantic City, New Jersey Mayor Marty Small had Dredgie Wood’s Fish Heads Restaurant towed away from Gardner’s Basin. This was despite the fact that New Jersey Senator Vince Polistina had successfully negotiated with the state of New Jersey to keep Fish Heads open for the 2022 season. Small waited until a rain-soaked, blustery Saturday to do this dirty deed. It was political retaliation by Small against Wood. Like a bad horror movie, Marty Small now strikes again on April Fool’s Day, 2023. All of the Atlantic City businesses that utilize the water at Gardner’s Basin have received letters from the Small administration that they will not be permitted to open for business. >click to read< 09:13
In response to the Biden Administration’s shoddy wind farm approval
The House of Representatives today passed an amendment offered by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) requiring a comprehensive, independent investigation into the sufficiency of the environmental approval process for 3,400 offshore wind turbines along New Jersey’s coastline during its consideration of the Lower Energy Costs Act (HR 1). Smith said his amendment—which passed by a vote of 244-189 and is now part of HR 1—comes in response to the Biden and Murphy Administrations’ rush to install the massive wind farms around the nation’s busiest port without adequate study on their impact on the environment, marine mammals, the fishing industry, tourism, navigational safety and more. Video, >click to read< 09:07
Witness Drives Home Marine Vessel Safety Concerns as Offshore Wind Growth Questioned
“Radar interference is a major safety problem for our vessels,” said Megan Lapp, the fisheries liaison for a Rhode Island-based seafood company who has spent close to a decade studying the impact of offshore wind farms on the commercial fishing industry. “Marine navigation without reliable radar is a life-threatening situation.” Lapp’s comments came during the first congressional hearing on the industrialization of the ocean earlier this month. She was one of six witnesses to testify before House of Representatives members Jeff Van Drew and Chris Smith of New Jersey, Andy Harris of Maryland and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania on March 16 in Wildwood. >click to read< 09:01
Offshore Wind Farm Opponents to Rally in Trenton on Thursday
Protect Our Coast NJ, a coalition of groups opposed to offshore wind farms, will hold a rally Thursday at the Trenton State House Annex to demand that Gov. Phil Murphy stop the projects until the cause of a surge in whale deaths is determined. Keith Moore, of Defend Brigantine Beach, another coastal group, said wind farm opponents will deliver an online petition, signed by nearly 500,000 people, calling for the immediate halt of wind farm development. The rally is scheduled at 9 a.m. Numerous advocacy groups, some formed to address what they call the “transformative industrialization” of the ocean, have been speaking out against the construction of offshore wind energy farms. >click to read< 13:30
Another Dead Whale Washes Up – This Time in Ocean City, N.J.
It’s become like a broken record, where people are starting to become numb to it all … but, for what it’s worth, another whale has washed up. This time in Ocean City, New Jersey. It’s a badly decomposed 9 foot Pygmy Sperm Whale, which our Brigantine source said may have been dead for many months. We caught up with Brigantine Mayor Vince Sera regarding the latest whale washing ashore. Sera provided us with comprehensive and thoughtful comments as follows: “It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see yet another dead whale wash up on our shore.” “How many more whales and dolphins need to die before Governor Murphy pauses these offshore wind activities?” >click to read< 09:40
Point Pleasant loses a fishing industry icon; Oscar John Stensland
On March 19 th , Oscar John Stensland passed away at age 90 after battling recent health issues. John was a former Commercial fisherman who was part owner of the Trawler Snow White in the nineteen sixties and early Seventies, until he decided to work with his late father, Oscar [senior] who had founded the Fisherman’s Supply Company back in 1948. Fisherman’s Supply was a crucial component of the development of the commercial fishing industry in the Ocean and Monmouth County
areas as the local fleet rapidly developed during the last century, and it provided Fishermen with a local store to purchase gear such as rope, twine, wire, hardware, tackles, blocks, etc. Without Fisherman’s Supply Company, fishermen were forced to travel to Rhode Island or New Bedford for fishing gear until Cape May started becoming major industry suppliers during the Seventies. >click to continue< 17:22
Distressed Whale spotted near offshore wind survey vessel – Jim Lovgren
Monday morning, March 20th, Bill Lovgren, the owner and Captain of the 72′ foot trawler, F/V Holdfast, left the Fisherman’s Dock Co-op shortly after 9 am for an offshore trip targeting Black Sea Bass and Summer Flounder with his two crewmen, James Lovgren, and Paul Kuchinski. Between them they have over seventy-five years of fishing experience from the port. This particular trip was unusual because the vessels fishing offshore generally leave port sometimes during the night due to having a 60- mile distance to travel to get to the grounds by daylight. Bill had to delay his departure Sunday night due to concerns of an oil leak in his generator. First thing Monday morning with the assurance from his mechanic that it wasn’t a critical problem, they threw off the lines and headed offshore. >click to read< 19:20
I’m a fishing boat captain. Green energy companies, government want to put me out of business
Offshore wind energy might be killing whales, but there’s no question it’s killing American fishermen. I’ve been a fishing boat captain for over 20 years. I live on an island in Maine and sail out of New Bedford, Mass. My brothers and cousins are lobstermen. Fishing is the trade our family has plied for generations. We’re proud to practice the founding craft of our nation. When colonists first settled New England, they looked to the sea to sustain them. And so it is for our coastal communities four 
centuries on. But for how much longer? Federal regulators and foreign green energy companies seem determined to drive us off the water and lay waste to the communities that depend on fishing. If their well-laid development plans succeed, biblical calamity will follow for working people across New England. Consider the mechanics of fishing. Photos, Video, >click to read< 10:06
New Jersey: Van Drew leads chorus of condemnation of wind projects in Wildwood
If there were any fans of offshore wind energy proposals in the Wildwoods Convention Center on Thursday afternoon, they kept quiet during a congressional hearing on the issue, led by U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd. Over about 2½ hours, speakers dove into what they see as problems with the proposal for wind turbines off the coast of New Jersey and other Eastern states, and with the state and federal approval process they say favors the wind developers. The hearing was billed as “An Examination into Offshore Wind Industrialization.” After opening statements, which were each deeply critical of the wind power plans, the Congress members heard from environmental advocates, an attorney representing Cape May County, a fishing industry member and others. They did not hear from Ørsted, the Danish energy company that owns Ocean Wind 1, the offshore wind power project expected to be the first in operation off New Jersey. Photos, Video, >click to read< 07:43
Fishermen Fight Back: Herring Fishermen Petition U.S. Supreme Court to Reject Executive Power Grab
With the support of Cause of Action Institute and former Solicitor General Paul Clement, New Jersey fishermen are petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case about government overreach and potentially overrule Chevron. The Magnuson-Stevens Act gives the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) discretionary authority to require monitors on commercial fishing boats. But when the agency ran out of money, it decided to shift the cost to fishermen themselves—without authorization from Congress. As a result of this unlawful mandate, most herring fishermen must effectively pay the salaries of monitors—estimated at over $700 per day—to ride their boats and watch them fish. That’s more than some boat captains will make on the same trip. Video, >click to read< 15:39
Middletown Township Committee Demands Halt on Offshore Wind Energy Plans for NJ Coastline
The Middletown Township Committee unanimously passed a resolution that expresses support for a federal and/or state moratorium on offshore wind energy projects along the New Jersey coastline at the Monday, March 6 Township Committee Meeting. There are currently multiple wind turbine projects to construct offshore wind farms 10 to 20 miles off the New Jersey coastline in various stages of development. There are serious concerns with offshore wind energy, such as the recent increase in whale deaths, that have not been adequately addressed as these wind turbine projects continue to move through the planning stages. Wind farms could also have a negative impact on the commercial fishing industry’s vital offshore fishing grounds as well as New Jersey’s multi-billion tourism industry. >click to read< 10:27
