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FunGoolAGotz t1_j9yedki wrote

sorry to be the ignoramus here, but what are the facts surrounding the uptick in dead whales along the Jersey shore?

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New_Stats OP t1_j9yfz1m wrote

There's been an uptick well before the sonar mapping. NOAA says it's most likely due to vessel strikes.

https://www.app.com/story/news/local/land-environment/2023/01/19/nj-whale-deaths-likely-caused-by-vessel-strikes-fishing-gear-feds/69819319007/

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Rainbowrobb t1_j9yixbx wrote

So the rate of strandings began to increase prior to the sonar mapping. There has been an increase of whales in recent years due to an increase of their prey. It's really that simple apparently

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mdp300 t1_j9ynv4e wrote

That almost sounds like this is a sign of a good thing.

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bjkibz t1_j9z9rxx wrote

Like how they’ve been seeing more great white sharks off the New England/Mid-Atlantic coast because gasp there are more seals and thus more sharks

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tonyblow2345 t1_j9yhx1a wrote

The key would be to figure out if the whales were hit and it caused their death, or they were sick/dead at the surface before being hit. I would HOPE they have someone trying to determine these things.

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Shawn0mara t1_j9z793o wrote

But most have these have been during the winter when there’s not many vessels out there besides cargo ships?

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New_Stats OP t1_j9z9g4g wrote

Quick question, what do you think is killing whales? Massive cargo ships or Jeff's 20 foot fishing boat that's smaller than most the things washing up on our shores and he's cleverly named "Huge Test Tackles"?

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Shawn0mara t1_j9zk7lt wrote

Right but many of these vessel strikes could be after the whale is already dead. The carcasses are always too decomposed to check their ears for damage.

I’m not saying it’s sonar/wind related but it’s worth looking into the root cause because whale deaths haven’t been this frequent in my lifetime.

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New_Stats OP t1_j9zlnf1 wrote

>Right but many of these vessel strikes could be after the whale is already dead

​

read. the. fucking. link. holy shit.

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structuremonkey t1_j9yvluy wrote

a few reasons I've read recently:

-Warming water Temps push their migration routes and feeding zones to different locations, often right into shipping lanes. This increases vessel strikes. The NY metro area is one of the busiest shipping areas on the East Coast.

  • avian flu. It's known to be killing seals and dolphins; it's likely to have made its way into whales.

  • eating of and entanglement in plastics including lost fishing ropes, drift nets, and micro plastics.

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currently__working t1_ja2n7zz wrote

Whoa whoa what about the avian flu affecting sea mammals as well? I heard it was also passing to mink somewhere too.

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mdp300 t1_j9ygv3m wrote

As far as I'm aware, we don't know exactly yet.

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