August 17, 2021 — Development of the South Fork Wind Farm off the coast of Rhode Island would have an overall “major” adverse impact on commercial fishing, according to a newly released federal study.
Impacts to commercial fishing include navigational hazards from potential collisions, loss of fishing grounds and impacts from construction and operation, according to a final environmental impact statement released Monday by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
The study found that impacts to other categories studied such as the potential impacts to air and water quality, marine mammals and bats, were negligible to minor, with many offset by the benefits of wind energy in combating climate change.
The overall “major adverse impact” on commercial fishing reflects the finding that some “commercial fisheries and fishing operations would experience substantial disruptions indefinitely even if remedial action is taken,” the study said.
But it’s not just the turbines that will impact fishing operations, BOEM found, saying that impacts of climate change and fishing itself present greater threats to the industry.
BOEM “expects that regulated fishing effort and climate change will continue to be the most impactful impact-producing factor[s] controlling the sustainability of commercial and for-hire recreational fisheries in the area,” the study said.