Bill > AR181

This Resolution urges the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior responsible for managing offshore energy development, to immediately halt sonar testing and wind turbine mapping activities off the New Jersey coast. This call for a pause is in response to a significant and unexplained increase in the deaths of whales and dolphins observed since December 2022, with many of these incidents occurring in or near areas where offshore wind energy projects are being developed. The resolution highlights concerns that the increased use of sonar, which can interfere with marine mammals' ability to hear, communicate, and navigate, may be linked to these marine life deaths, and calls for further scientific study into the potential impacts of these offshore wind development activities on marine ecosystems.