VENTNOR — In January, John Gowdy came to town asking why there were so many dead humpback whales washing ashore on New Jersey beaches.
Since he’s an artist and local sand sculptor, Gowdy asked the question with his art, in the form of a 30-square-foot sand drawing at the city’s fishing pier.
While the marine deaths have grown since then and the answers still elude the public, Gowdy returned here this week to complete a life-sized sand sculpture of a humpback and her calf. The statement piece was created on South Suffolk Avenue, blocks from the South Mississippi Avenue burial site of the two humpback whales found in Atlantic City.
Gowdy’s massive 45-square-foot whale, named “Hope” by a little girl who was passing by as Gowdy sculpted the humpback, and her calf could be seen from the Boardwalk all week.
“It just made an impression on me. We need to call attention to this and find out what is causing whales to die, and come up with solutions,” Gowdy said.
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There will also be a gathering at 1 p.m. Sunday on the Suffolk Avenue beach. U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, and state Sen. Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic, will be among the speakers, and a marine mammal expert is also expected to attend. Johnny Higbee and the Blue Street Band will perform their new song “Save the Whales” on a stage set atop the finished sand sculpture.
Since December, at least 20 whales, mostly humpbacks, have washed up along New Jersey and New York beaches.
Last Tuesday, eight dolphins were found beached near 52nd Street in Sea Isle City. Two died on the beach and the other six were euthanized by the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine.
Some believe sonar testing done by offshore wind energy companies surveying the ocean floor in preparation for wind farms miles off the coast is the cause for the spike in whale deaths and marine mammal strandings.
But representatives from state and federal agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, have said there is no evidence that the recent marine mammal strandings and offshore wind activities are connected.
Brigantine Mayor Vince Sera, Polistina, Van Drew and others have called for a moratorium to halt all offshore wind energy projects until more work can be done to discover the cause of the whale deaths. They’ve also called for the investigating parties to release full necropsies of the whales.
But when the Stranding Center conducted necropsies on the deceased whales, the results showed boat strikes and net entanglements as the causes of death.
Others speculate the recent whale and dolphin deaths are the results of human-caused climate change, global warming, ecosystem changes, a change in feeding habits and other things.
Higbee said he wanted to treat Sunday’s gathering as “strictly about the whales” and “not a political thing.”
Gowdy said Sunday’s gathering will be family friendly.
GALLERY: John Gowdy's whale sculpture in Ventnor
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
Gowdy's sculpture is just a few blocks from where two whales were buried in the sand after beaching in Atlantic City.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
On Tuesday, Mar 28, 2022, Sculptor John Gowdy is onto day four of making a 42 foot humpback whale sculpture, featuring a whale calf and eight dolphins in light of recent marine animal stranding deaths. The sand sculpture is located on the beach at Suffolk Avenue in Ventnor City, only a short distance from where two beached humpback whales were buried.
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