Sea Isle City residents express concern over rising number of dolphin strandings, deaths

SEA ISLE CITY, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Eight dead dolphins have been taken to a state lab in New Jersey for necropsies after beaching in Sea Isle City, New Jersey, on Tuesday.

Responders tried to help the eight common dolphins with towels and buckets of water.

READ: 8 dolphins dead after mass stranding event in Sea Isle City, New Jersey

"There were probably 50 dolphins just going back and forth all morning, and the next thing you know, we saw some coming straight in," said Tim Ramsey of Sea Isle City on Tuesday.

They washed up sometime before 11 a.m. between 50th and 52nd streets.

Officials with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center say two were dead, and the other six were deteriorating quickly. They were euthanized to prevent further suffering.

It's been a very busy winter for strandings at the shore.

"You hear every now and then that a beach would come up but nothing like this past winter," said Nancy Valerio, who owns a place in Sea Isle City.

Valerio and many others wonder if offshore wind development is to blame.

Energy company Orsted says it recently completed survey work in January off the coast of New Jersey, and doesn't have any site investigations happening now.

Maddy Urbish, Head of Government Affairs and Market Strategy, New Jersey, announced the following on Wednesday:

"The completed surveys did not involve sounds or actions that would harm whales or other marine mammals."

She also said that Orsted vessels "have not experienced any whale strikes during offshore survey activity in the U.S."

So far this year, there have been seven whale strandings in New Jersey. That's more than all of 2022 and all of 2021.

There have also been 23 dolphin and porpoise strandings in 2023.

In all of last year, there were 45.

The following is a total list of whale, dolphin, and porpoise strandings in New Jersey in 2023:

Marine life experts have said there are many possible explanations for the deaths, such as boat strikes, entanglements, and disease.

Some politicians continue to call for a moratorium on offshore wind projects.

NOAA has said there's no evidence linking the deaths to survey activities happening at wind farm sites, but the deaths are being studied as they're reported.

Action News also reached out to Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, which has a project off the coast of Atlantic City. We didn't hear back Wednesday.