January 15, 2026 — Just as the Trump administration abruptly halted five offshore wind projects in December, a new study aims to quantify the impacts the controversial industry may have on commercial scallop fishers.
The study, published mid-December, found that while offshore wind may not change scallop fishing much — causing only an estimated 4% increase in travel time — even that amount of change could still leave a major impact on the highly lucrative and sensitive industry.
“It’s kind of like death by a thousand cuts,” said Sarah Borsetti, paper author and fisheries researcher at Rutgers University’s Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory. “With all of the other things facing the industry, this is another thorn in the side.”
Using a model that previously predicted changes in the surfclam industry, Borsetti and her team sought to simulate fishermen’s real behavior in and around offshore development sites. To make her model as accurate as possible, her team interviewed commercial scallopers across the Eastern Seaboard — but primarily in the industry hub of New Bedford.