March 18, 2022 — The Baker administration and the Massachusetts Legislature have been gung-ho about pursuing offshore wind power and preparing the state’s infrastructure to deal with the consequences of climate change, but lawmakers during the week of March 7 impressed upon the administration the importance of keeping the state’s historic fishing industry in mind as well.
“We’ve been taking steps over the past couple of years to make sure that the commonwealth is a leader in the wind industry. However, I’m not insensitive to the fact that some of what we’re doing on wind and with renewables comes to the expense of one of our oldest professions, which is the fishing industry,” Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante of Gloucester said March 11 during a hearing on the energy and environment portions of Gov. Charlie Baker’s $48.5 billion fiscal-year 2023 budget bill.
Tension between the commercial fishing industry and offshore wind developers has been a constant thread as the new industry looks to establish its roots in the United States. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, among others, has sued federal agencies contending that by approving the Vineyard Wind I project “the United States has shortcut the statutory and regulatory requirements that were enacted to protect our nation’s environmental and natural resources, its industries, and its people.”
Annie Hawkins, executive director of RODA, said the fishing industry supports “strong action on climate change, but not at the expense of the ocean, its inhabitants, and sustainable domestic seafood.” The Massachusetts Seafood Collaborative, a group of seafood harvesters, processors and wholesalers, has come out in stout opposition to the offshore wind bill the House has passed and generally any other Beacon Hill plans to promote and grow the offshore wind industry here.