May 23, 2025 — Watermen in Worcester County say they don’t want a penny out of a proposed $20 million relief package from an offshore wind farm developer.
“The (Department of Natural Resources) asked us for input, and we’re not negotiating our livelihood. That’s our life. We’re not going to make an agreement to put ourselves out of business,” said Jeanene Gwin, vice president of the Waterman’s Association of Worcester County.
Watermen are rejecting the agreement inked last week between offshore wind developer US Wind and environmental officials in Maryland and Delaware, one that aims to compensate the fishing community for negative effects of a proposed wind farm to be located about 11 miles off Ocean City’s shoreline.
According to the MOU, which is a public document, US Wind promises to create a $20 million relief fund for fishermen whose businesses would be harmed not only by the 114-turbine wind farm, but also the accompanying operations and maintenance facility to be built in the West Ocean City commercial fishing harbor.
Millions would be set aside incrementally for each years-long phase of the project – construction, operations, and eventual decommissioning. The dollar amount goes “above and beyond what is required by” federal agencies, US Wind said in a May 14 statement.
“This proposal – one of the biggest investments in commercial fishing in the region – demonstrates our commitment to the fishing industry and the local community in which we’ll operate,” said US Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski.