March 16, 2016 — The yearslong process of assessing and approving an expansive wind-farm off the South Shore of Long Island moved another step forward Wednesday when the federal government formally designated the site a “wind-energy area.”
Fishing interests were quick to condemn the move, saying the government could have identified a much smaller segment or avoided the site entirely to protect vital fisheries for squid, monkfish, scallops and other species.
“We’re disappointed to say the least,” said Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney for the Fisheries Survival Fund, which represents 250 scallop fishing permit holders from Massachusetts to North Carolina. They face a combined loss of $5 million annually if the site becomes a wind farm.
Minkiewicz said the group would “use every means available” to stop the effort. The federal government “has to protect existing reasonable uses and they’ve done nothing of the sort so far. They’re clearly violating the law.”