Gopal Having a Whale of a Time with Dnistrian in LD

Whale deaths have been on the rise off the coast of New Jersey and, as yet, no one is exactly sure why. Forbes had cited the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, stating that 2023 had seen the largest number of humpback whale deaths in 21 years and the Center is investigating. Further, in 2023, some 29 humpback whales had been reported as beached on the East Coast, with eight of them in New Jersey.

Politically, the subject is divisive. In New Jersey, the issue of off-shore wind is in the crosshairs of both parties: mistrust, coupled with emotion and uncertainty, have given the topic all the murky clarity of the Jersey shore waters as a political talking point. All the while, some environmentalists lament that concrete, definitive whale protection policies are being ignored while the hypothetical garner all the attention.

Whales are, in general, threatened, with populations only starting to rebound after decades of near cataclysmic decline from commercial fishing (whaling), collisions with ships, and environmental threats. A number of Republicans, including State Senator Vin Gopal’s challenger, Steve Dnistrian, have called for a pause—at least a temporary one—on sonar mapping and off-shore wind which they claim may be responsible for the uptick in whale deaths.

State Senator Vin Gopal has voted “no” with respect to the Orsted Ocean Wind Turbine project and called for an investigation on costs and the potential environmental impact of the project.

Journalist Matt Friedman Tweeted a picture of Gopal’s newsletter on the issue, which partially reads, “The Wind Turbine project, although it presents a potential renewable energy source, has brought to the forefront potential environmental concerns. We have some unknowns as it pertains to environmental impact outside of being an energy source and I would like to take a pause so we can thoroughly explore what that may be.”

Steve Dnistrian, who is the Republican challenger seeking to unseat Gopal, had tweeted an attack on Gopal this month after another humpback whale was beached in New Jersey. “A dead whale washes up in Long Branch, home of @vingopal, and yet he still dismisses ANY POSSIBLE tie between sonar mapping + dead mammals. Here, he calls advocates and others ‘conspiracy theorists.’ Non-expert, self-righteousness won’t help. Indep research + moratorium now!!”

The Republican State Legislative Committee released a statement attacking Gopal Wednesday following the Friedman tweet for breaking ranks with other Democrats on the issue, calling him a hypocrite. “You can’t make this up. Just weeks after calling anyone who opposes offshore wind projects in New Jersey due to potential whale and dolphin deaths ‘conspiracy theorists,’ Vin Gopal is now calling for an investigation into the impact of offshore wind,” the RSLC said. “This is in complete contradiction from a recent interview Gopal gave on News 12 NJ’s Power & Politics where he said anyone who suggests offshore winds are causing whales to wash up on New Jersey beaches are ‘conspiracy theorists’.”

Gopal, however, rejected the Republican attacks. Speaking to InsiderNJ, Gopal said, “Nowhere in that article does it say anything about whales and dolphins. I’ve been consistent since day one that I voted against the Orsted bill because I’m concerned about costs, ratepayers, and the quality of mammal and fish life when the things are actually being constructed. That is different than these whales and dolphins that have been dying since 2016, well before any of the offshore winds even started. Since none of the necropsies have shown that it’s related to offshore wind, most, if not all, have been related to boat and shipping deaths, so there’s been nothing that’s inconsistent.”

The incumbent acknowledged that he was the only member of his party to dissent on the Orsted bill. “I was the only Democrat to vote against it because I’m concerned about the cost long-term,” Gopal said. “We need to address the ratepayer costs, but at the same time, those running around saying that it’s killing whales and dolphins are being dishonest with the public.”

The Millennial senator continued with his financial concerns about the Orsted project and asserted that Republicans have attempted to twist what he has said to apply it to marine life. “I have been concerned about the cost to offshore wind. Orsted made $4.4 billion in record profits. They made a deal where that half a billion was to go back to ratepayers but that did not happen. I’m concerned about the long-term costs to ratepayers as well as site, vision, and actual construction when it happens. The Republicans, or at least my opposition, have continued to talk about how this has to do with whales and dolphins dying yet they have no evidence or proof on that. They’re misleading people and they’re politicizing it. My positions are not different except I’m basing my position on facts, data, and science, and they are positioning theirs on just trying to divide people over misinformation.”

Environmental advocate and activist Jeff Tittel spoke with InsiderNJ on the subject of whale deaths. For Tittel, the issue has been politicized, but there have been failings on both sides. Democrats and Republicans alike, he said, have dropped the ball—the former on messaging and the latter on policy.

When discussing some of the wind companies involved, Tittel said that preliminary off-shore wind environmental impact investigations should have been carried out by independent, third-party entities, with those findings made public right from the start. Tittel said, “If they did that going in, we wouldn’t have all these problems now. This was their own arrogance in the beginning, setting it up, so that people would just blame all the whale deaths on wind when there really is no direct proof of any kind. There is a lot of evidence that, where they have done the necropsies, that being hit by ships is a major reason [for whale deaths].”

Tittel said that fishing and lobster gear out at sea is another, proven cause of whale deaths. Whales that consume long lines get the gear caught inside their organs and die. “My point is that one side is attacking and saying it’s all about wind, they can’t prove it. But I think that people who are pro-wind made a serious mistake when they did not say they would have independent research done to put that issue to rest.”

Other issues which are not necessarily hypotheticals have also rubbed Tittel and environmentalists the wrong way on the wind-and-whale debate. The behavior of the wind firms, Tittel said, has been contentious among shore communities. “Down in Ocean City, when the people originally were saying ‘we’re not sure we want to see the windmills, can they be moved from 10 miles to 15 miles out?’ They said ‘no.’ That raised people’s ire and concern, and also when they start taking Green Acres land for the cables that come on shore.”

The failure of the pro-wind camp to establish a grassroots support base with a transparent operation, Tittel said, opened them up to attacks such as those launched by Republicans. “Their kind of arrogance, and just blowing off criticism, or people having different opinions, has completely undermined them with a lot of the public. I think that’s a big part of the problem that people like Vin are now facing.”

The Republicans, however, did not escape Tittel’s wrath. The GOP, he said, has been riding the “Save the Whales” line as a matter of political expedience—nobody likes when whales wash up dead, be they left-wing or right-wing. But, he said, the Republicans have failed to move on actual policies that would, in fact, protect whales from known threats to their well-being, rather than simply trying to halt off-shore wind as a possible whale hazard.

“Jeff Van Drew, Chris Smith, and Republican legislators are all out there, touting that they want to protect the whales, especially the right whales,” Tittel said. “If you go down to LBI you will see, ‘Save the Whales’. But right now, in Congress, there is a markup to block the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from regulating the speed limits and boat sizes that would be off the coast of New Jersey. Three years ago, NOAA proposed rules that would slow boats down to 10 miles an hour during the whale season, November to April, and would regulate all boats down to 35 feet. Right now only boats over 65 feet are regulated. So, these Republicans and candidates are down there and suddenly people are talking about saving the whales. Yet the Republicans are pushing this amendment in the budget that would block NOAA from protecting whales.”

Tittel referred to HR 4323 – Protecting Whales, Human Safety and the Economy Act of 2023 sponsored by Republican Congressman Earl “Buddy” Carter of Georgia. Congressman Van Drew is a co-sponsor.

“If there is a problem,” Tittel said, “I’ll be blunt–maybe environmentalists will be mad at me—I think we should do studies to make sure that what’s been going on so far hasn’t had an impact on whales. But I am concerned when we start building the windmills off the coast that there could be an impact, and we need to make sure. But I just find that the issue of the whales has become a political football and, meanwhile, we’re not doing what we could do to actually protect the whales.”

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