East Anglia News Service – Three whales that washed up on the Suffolk coast
may have died after becoming disorientated by offshore windfarms, marine
experts believe.
The coastguard received reports of a minke whale calf that had become
separated from its mother on Friday night. By the next afternoon it had
been found dead at the mouth of the River Ore and its mother was found
washed up near Felixstowe. Yesterday another dead adult was seen off the
Harwich coast. They are likely to have come from the same pod meaning that
an entire family could have been lost.
Council staff are trying to establish what happened before disposing of the
carcasses, one of which is about seven metres long and likely to weigh more
than five tonnes. Wildlife experts claim that the noise generated by wind
turbines can affect the sonar whales use to navigate, steering them off
course. There are several commercial wind farms off East Anglia including
Gunfleet Sands, which has 48 turbines.
John Cresswell, chairman of the Felixstowe Volunteer Coast Patrol Rescue
Service, said the upsetting scenes were becoming more frequent on the east
coast. He added: “My personal opinion is that it could be a consequence of
wind farms and the amount of sand in the water. If you stop the boat off
the coast you can feel the vibrations and hear the noise.” His crew are
monitoring 20 miles of coast for any more whales.
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