Setting the Record Straight About Offshore Wind and Whales

Federal agencies and independent scientists have found no causal link between offshore wind development and whale deaths. In fact, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Fisheries, the agency responsible for marine mammal conservation and management, explains in its FAQ on offshore wind and whales: “There are no known links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind activities.” Earlier this year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office similarly reported that NOAA Fisheries “does not anticipate any death or serious injury to whales from offshore wind related actions.” And the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)—the agency responsible for siting and permitting offshore wind projects—stated in 2024 that “[a]ll current evidence indicates that there are no links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind activities, including site characterization surveys.” 

Independent scientists have likewise found “no evidence” that offshore wind development resulted in whale deaths or strandings (when a whale is found onshore due to injury, distress, disease, or death).

There is simply no credible evidence to support claims that offshore wind has caused whale deaths. Over the last 10 months, President Trump and others in his administration have implied or alleged that offshore wind projects harm whales and that environmental reviews and other permitting processes for offshore wind were rushed or carried out improperly. Yet the administration has not identified a single piece of evidence or produced a credible scientific study to back up its claims. 

On day one of his second term, President Trump issued a memorandum directing federal agencies to assess the impacts of offshore wind projects on wildlife, including marine mammals, but no assessment has been released. And on April 16, 2025, BOEM ordered the Empire Wind project off Long Island to halt construction while the agency “address[ed] feedback it has received, including from [NOAA], about the environmental analyses for that project[.]” However, the agency never provided an explanation as to why work was stopped or what feedback was received from NOAA, beyond publishing online an almost entirely redacted report. BOEM eventually allowed Empire Wind to resume construction.

Offshore wind projects undergo extensive multiyear reviews and are subject to a variety of laws like the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires agencies to review the environmental impacts of development, and the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act, which require protective measures to help ensure that activities do not harm protected whales. Existing federal permitting requirements provide a robust and established way for federal agencies to engage with developers, state and local agencies, Tribes, and the public to address potential impacts to the environment, national security, and other uses of the ocean from offshore wind projects. 

These processes are proven and have helped protect wildlife and improve government decisionmaking for decades. Not to mention that the Trump administration is speaking out of both sides of its mouth—decrying multiyear offshore wind permitting processes as “rushed” while rolling back some of the very same permitting requirements for the fossil fuel industry, even though offshore oil and gas activities pose well-documented and major threats to whales like Cook Inlet beluga whales and Gulf of Mexico Rice’s whales.

Multiple species of great whales—North Atlantic right whales, humpback whales, and minke whales—are currently experiencing unusual mortality events off the East Coast. Such events are declared when there is a marked increase in death, injury, or morbidity (defined as sublethal injury or illness) for a particular mammal species. But again, there is no evidence that offshore wind development is the cause. Vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear are by far the largest direct human sources of mortality for most whales. These two threats are pushing North Atlantic right whales to the brink of extinction. 

For humpbacks, roughly 40 percent of necropsies show harm from vessel strike or entanglement. Necropsies of minke whales indicate that many animals are suffering from infectious diseases or have been impacted by human interaction. The other large whale species found off the East Coast—blue whales, fin whales, and sei whales—are all listed as endangered due to the lasting impacts of industrial whaling and are similarly impacted by human activities.

Climate change exacerbates the stress on whales. As ocean warming changes the distribution of key prey, large whale distributions are shifting. These shifts have brought whales into greater conflict with human activities like fishing and vessels and increased their susceptibility to malnourishment, poor health, and vessel strikes.

Rather than tilting at windmills, the Trump administration could take real steps to address the actual causes of whale injuries and deaths on the East Coast. Science confirms the value of vessel speed restrictions in reducing deaths of large whale species and sea turtles from vessel collisions. If it adopted additional 10-knot speed limits for certain vessels in whale habitat, NOAA would meaningfully reduce vessel strike risk. 

The administration could also address entanglement in vertical buoy lines by issuing stronger regulations and investing in ropeless (on-demand) fishing systems for the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries to offset the economic burden of obtaining new gear. 

And, if the administration cares about the long-term health of whale populations in a changing climate, federal agencies should continue to advance responsibly developed offshore wind projects that include mitigation and monitoring requirements to protect whales and other wildlife. Offshore wind development is a critical component of mitigating climate change, and responsible offshore wind development enjoys broad support from coastal communities and environmental organizations. 

Instead of attacking the renewable energy sources that we need to avoid climate catastrophe and firing the very scientists working to monitor and protect our beloved whales, the administration should implement science-based protections for these iconic marine mammals.

For more information on whales and offshore wind, check out these resources:

• Environmental Technical Working Group, an independent advisory body to the state of New York: Frequently Asked Questions: Offshore Wind and Whales
• Marine Mammal Commission, an independent government agency charged with furthering the conservation of marine mammals and their environment: Update on Strandings of Large Whales along the East Coast
• NRDC, Sierra Club et al.: Addressing Misinformation and Protecting Marine Life in Offshore Wind Development