May 24, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries has developed new analyses and reports to help the public better understand the impacts on recreational party and charter boat fishing associated with offshore wind development along the U.S. Atlantic Coast. The new reports complement the previously developed analyses and reports of commercial fishing impacts associated with offshore wind development in the same region.
To help analyze how party and charter boat fishing operations may be impacted by offshore wind energy projects, NOAA Fisheries compared vessel logbook fishing location data from 2008-2018 to current offshore wind energy project areas. We identified where and when fishing occurred relative to these areas and developed reports of potential socioeconomic impacts from each offshore wind project area based on the historic data. These reports include information on the amount of primary species retained, number of party and charter boat trips, number of angler trips, revenue associated with party and charter boat trips, and communities affected by each offshore wind development project area. These reports will help estimate the potential impacts of such development on managed recreational fisheries and associated fishing communities.
The socioeconomic impact reports are now available online. All data included in reports have been aggregated, as necessary, to protect data confidentiality.