UK fishermen tell locals of their experiences in Europe with offshore wind farms and how to organize.
April 10, 2019 — As global wind-energy interests set their sights on more than a dozen offshore U.S. energy areas, two longtime British fishermen who act as go-betweens to the offshore wind industry and the fishing community advised Long Island fishermen to stay vigilant and demand a seat at the table when waters are divvied up.
Two dozen Long Island fishermen gathered in Montauk Monday to hear how two veterans of Europe’s maturing offshore wind industry worked to bring their industry into discussions on siting projects in waters that have traditionally been their workplace. It hasn’t been easy, and successes have come only recently, they said.
Colin Warwick, chairman of the Fishing Liaison Offshore Wind and Wet Renewables, Crown Estate, said U.K. fishermen were initially caught flat-footed when wind-energy developers first started planning turbines for their fishing grounds. It’s taken time for fishermen to demand a seat at the table so that prime harvest grounds aren’t lost, and so that fishermen can be compensated if even temporary work limits access to those grounds.
“We had to find a way to bring the fishing industry into the discussion,” said Warwick. “Most importantly, you have to be organized.”
Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, said challenges continue. “We’re fighting on everything and we’re united as a group, but we can’t seem to get teeth in because wind farm companies keep saying, ‘I can’t hear you.’ ”
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