February 2, 2021 — At least a few fishermen voiced doubts about wind farms on the coast here, particularly their fears they’ll negatively impact local fisheries.
At a second meeting with Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, fishermen went as far as asking the company to put up a bond to reimburse fishing businesses if they fail due to the wind farm.
“What if the fishing industry gets pummeled? We don’t have any fallback. Until that gets answered there’s a lot of guys that aren’t going to back this,” said Capt. Bob Rush Jr., owner and operator of the Starfish party boat in Sea Isle City.
Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind’s lease site lies 10 to 20 miles off the coast between Barnegat Light and Atlantic City. The lease site is about 183,000 acres