Trump holds offshore wind turbines responsible for whale fatalities

Former US President Donald Trump has made unsubstantiated claims that wind turbines off the coast of the US are causing an unprecedented number of whale deaths. His remarks, made during a rally in South Carolina, have garnered significant attention on social media, with a video clip of his speech receiving over nine million views. However, there is no evidence to support Trump's claims. Some conservationists have expressed concerns about whale deaths near an offshore wind farm on the US east coast, leading to calls from Republican lawmakers to halt offshore wind farm development and conduct further research on potential links to humpback whale deaths. Although hundreds of social media posts falsely connecting wind farms to whale deaths have been spreading, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that since 2016, a total of 208 humpback whales have been stranded along the country's east coast. The NOAA has designated this as an "unusual mortality event." In 2023, 33 humpback whale strandings have occurred so far, marking one of the worst years in the last decade. Trump's claim that only one such whale has been killed off the coast of South Carolina in the last 50 years is contradicted by records from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, which reveal at least seven humpback whale strandings since 1993. Post-mortem examinations conducted by the NOAA on approximately 90 dead humpback whales since 2016 found that 40% of the deaths were linked to human interaction, such as entanglement in fishing nets or collisions with vessels. Other cases cited various factors as possible causes of death, including organ damage caused by parasites or starvation. Rob Deaville from the Zoological Society of London's Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme emphasizes that the main threats to humpback whales are fishing and ship strikes, dismissing wind farms as a significant concern. Despite wind farms existing in other regions with no increase in whale mortality, it is acknowledged that the construction of wind farms may have some impact on natural habitats. Prior to building offshore wind farms, seismic surveys are conducted, which some activists have suggested could lead to whale deaths due to the generated noise. Mr. Deaville points out that while porpoises or dolphins may temporarily relocate during the construction phase, in some cases, they do not return or return in greater numbers afterwards. The NOAA states that there are no known links between recent whale mortality rates and offshore wind surveys. However, this does not mean that constructing wind farms has no impact on natural habitats.