Last year a total of nine whales washed up dead on the beaches of New York and New Jersey.

This year the states have seen 14 deaths so far.

So what's behind this massive spike in numbers? Weelll...

There's little doubt humans are involved in whales dying: 40% of dead humpbacks examined by scientists since 2016 showed evidence of being hit by ships or caught in fishing nets. So, what's causing more dead whales on our beaches?

Some have postulated that increased shipping activity might be driving the recent spike. But in recent years the Port of New York and New Jersey hasn't really recorded more ships, just more containers. The number of total ships coming into the harbor has more or less been steady since 2019.

There's the possibility that the waters in the area are simply seeing more whales in recent years, especially after the menhaden population rebounded following conservation efforts. Whales will go where the menhaden are.

Fishing gear could also be entangling whales, driving some of the spike. But an alternative theory places the onus on green-energy wind farms:

Opponents, including Greenpeace's former president in Canada, believe sound pulses used to survey the ocean floor for the 900-ft wind turbines is likely linked to the ongoing spate of whale deaths.

Patrick Moore, who has been disavowed by the environmental group, told The Post in May the long-term impact of high-intensity acoustic noise on whales and other marine mammals is unknown.

The pulses could guide whales to shallow waters with increased risk of being hit by ships or getting caught in fishing gear, he claimed.

As of yet there's no hard evidence to substantiate this theory. Then again, we've never put massive, high-tech wind turbines in the middle of the ocean before. This is, you know, a new frontier in human technological development. So we really don't know what these things might be doing to marine populations.

We should probably do some large-scale surveys of that, though I think the green energy lobby's response tends to that suggestion tends to be the same.