OREANDA-NEWS. February 06, 2015. It was one of the mysteries of summer 2010: what was responsible for the strange deaths of grey seals off the picturesque north Norfolk coast of England, many with horrific “corkscrew” or “spiral” cut marks? New research suggests wind farms were not to blame, despite some suggestions at the time.

Dozens of seals had been found washed up on England’s east coast with the distinctive wound pattern. Reports said some 38 dead seals were found at Blakeney Point, 12 miles from the Sheringham Shoal wind farm then under construction.

A number of possible causes were proposed, but one of the top theories discussed at the time was whether the seals could have been caught up in the propellers of the increased boat traffic to and from local harbors as developers put up the turbines offshore.

Sheringham Shoal development group Scira, owned by Norwegian energy companies Statoil and Statkraft, rejected the accusations. There were no indications, they said, that their equipment could have caused injuries such as those inflicted on the seals.

And the timing was wrong: the seal deaths began in December 2009, while work on the wind farm began in March 2010. Seals with similar damage had also been found along the coasts of Scotland and Canada, Scira said.