BOSTON — State officials are asking the federal government to cut in half the possible leasing area for offshore wind energy projects in a large swath of ocean south of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
The move was hailed Tuesday by fishing interests as a positive step to protect sensitive fish spawning grounds and Nantucket Shoals, a productive fishing area southeast of the island.
The proposed reduction is in response to the concentration of shipping, fishing and marine mammals in or near the eastern half of the current planning area, state Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Richard Sullivan said Tuesday.
The original leasing area the federal government opened up last year to gauge interest among offshore wind energy developers covers 3,000 square miles of ocean.
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