U.S. Agencies Implement Strategy to Protect Endangered Whales Amid Offshore Wind Farm Development

Artificial intelligence and acoustic monitoring to be used in mitigation efforts, while Equinor and BP swap offshore wind project leases.

Two federal environmental agencies, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have issued plans to protect endangered North American right whales amid a surge of offshore wind farm projects.
The strategy includes using artificial intelligence and passive acoustic monitoring to track the whales and monitor the impacts of wind development, as well as establishing noise limits during construction and supporting research to develop new harm minimization technologies.
Despite accusations from opponents of offshore wind projects blaming them for a spate of whale deaths, the agencies maintain that climate change is the biggest threat to the right whales, with no evidence that offshore wind preparation work is harming or killing whales.
Of the 360 right whales left in the ocean, only 70 are reproductively active females, and the species faces threats from vessel strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, and climate-related depletion of their habitats and food supply.
Simultaneously, companies Equinor and BP announced they were swapping leases for offshore wind projects in New York and Massachusetts, a move that will see Equinor take full ownership of the Empire Wind lease and projects, and BP take full ownership of the Beacon Wind lease and projects.