Saving Seafood

Port of New Bedford to Host Joint In-Person/Virtual Meeting with BOEM on Proposed New York Bight Offshore Wind Leases

August 3, 2021 — The following was released by the Port of New Bedford:

On Friday, August 6, from 3 to 5 PM, the Port of New Bedford will host an in-person meeting with fishermen and industry advocates on the impacts of proposed offshore wind leases in the New York Bight. Representatives from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will attend the meeting virtually. The meeting will highlight fishing industry concerns over offshore wind development, particularly in relation to the valuable scallop fishery, which has helped make New Bedford the nation’s most valuable fishing port for 20 consecutive years.

Fishing industry owners and boat owners are encouraged to post the attached flyer to ensure their staff know about the meeting and can make their voices heard. Reporters are also encouraged to attend the meeting, which will help shape the future of offshore wind in the New York Bight.

While representatives from BOEM will be attending virtually, the in-person gathering hosted by the Port of New Bedford will take place at the Fairfield Inn and Suites. Discussion topics to be covered include:

  • Enhanced fishermen engagement requirements in the Final Sale Notice
  • Number, size, orientation, and location of the proposed lease areas
  • No build transit routes through the lease areas
  • Potential prescribed layouts in the leases
  • Science, Monitoring and Mitigation

More information on the event is included below.

WHO:
Representatives from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Stakeholders in New England’s Commercial Fishing and Scallop Industry

WHEN:
August 6, 2021 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM

WHERE:
Fairfield Inn and Suites
185 MacArthur Drive, New Bedford, MA
Waypoint Meeting Facility

BOEM Advances Offshore Wind Leasing Process in California

August 2, 2021 — The following was released by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management:

As part of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to creating nearly 80,000 jobs through developing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today announced two actions advancing the federal wind leasing process offshore California.

First, BOEM will publish a Call for Information and Nominations (Call) to request information from the public and determine industry interest in commercial offshore wind energy development for two new areas within a 399-square-mile area located off central California, identified as the Morro Bay Call Area East and West Extensions. The new areas are adjacent to the Morro Bay Call Area, originally identified by BOEM in 2018. The extension areas will be included in BOEM’s overall analysis of the Morro Bay 399 Area.

Second, BOEM has formally designated the Humboldt Wind Energy Area (WEA) offshore northern California and will now proceed with an environmental review of this area, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

“Today’s announcement builds on an earlier agreement between the White House, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Defense, and the state of California to advance areas for offshore wind off the northern and central coasts of California,” said BOEM Director Amanda Lefton. “If approved for offshore wind energy development, these areas could bring us closer to reaching this administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030.”

On May 25, 2021, the Departments of the Interior and Defense and the state of California announced their agreement to advance areas for wind energy development offshore the northern and central coasts of California, enabling a path forward for the Humboldt Call Area and areas within and adjacent to the Morro Bay Call Area.

“While we are still in the initial stages of BOEM’s leasing process, today’s announcement reflects years of working with ocean users, Tribal governments and local, state, and federal agencies to obtain the best available information to reduce potential conflicts,” said BOEM Acting Pacific Region Director Thomas Liu. “The Morro Bay Call and Humboldt Environmental Assessment offer important opportunities to further solicit feedback from Tribes, ocean users and stakeholders.”

In addition to contributing to the goals of the Biden-Harris administration, the development of offshore wind energy can help California reach its goal of 100 percent carbon-free energy by 2045, create good-paying union jobs, and foster investments in coastal communities. Offshore wind resources are typically stronger and more consistent than winds over land and are especially strong in the evening hours when solar energy production drops off, ensuring that offshore wind energy can make an important contribution to California’s electric grid.

Morro Bay Call Area – East and West Extensions

The Morro Bay Call Area East Extension and the Morro Bay Call Area West Extension offshore the central California coast consist of approximately 141 square statute miles (90,025 acres).

BOEM will publish the Commercial Leasing for Wind Power Development on the Outer Continental Shelf Offshore Morro Bay, California, East and West Extensions – Call for Information and Nominations in the Federal Register on July 29, 2021, which will initiate a 45-day public comment period. BOEM will accept nominations and comments until September 13, 2021. Additional information on the Call and how to comment can be found at https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/morro-bay-call-extension-areas.

Humboldt WEA

BOEM is also designating nearly 132,369 acres (206.8 square miles) as a WEA offshore Humboldt County in northern California. BOEM will conduct an environmental assessment (EA) of the WEA, per NEPA.

The EA will consider potential environmental consequences of site characterization activities (e.g., survey activities and core samples) and site assessment activities (e.g., installation of meteorological buoys) associated with issuing wind energy leases in the WEA. The EA will also consider project easements associated with each potential lease issued, and grants for subsea cable corridors through state tidelands.

As part of BOEM’s scoping process, BOEM is seeking public comments on what should be considered as part of the EA. BOEM also will use these comments as input for its consultation under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Additional information on how to comment can be found at https://www.boem.gov/renewable-energy/state-activities/humboldt-wind-energy-area.

BOEM, states discuss compensation for fishing lost to offshore wind

July 29, 2021 — The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is working with coastal states to come up with plans for potentially compensating fishermen for lost fishing grounds and other negative effects of developing offshore wind turbine arrays.

But details are murky, according to one fisheries advocacy group that says fishermen should already be involved in that planning.

Reuters reported July 27 that officials in the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management who are driving offshore wind planning are talking about compensatory payments for displaced fishermen.

That was news to Annie Hawkins, executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a coalition of fishing groups and coastal communities.

The only direct knowledge her group’s executive committee got was in an informal conference call with BOEM administrator Amanda Lefton and her staff, Hawkins said Wednesday. Lefton mentioned that her agency would be working with state government officials to explore “compensatory mitigation” for fishermen forced out of work by wind farm development, and would begin scheduling meetings for that effort.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Commercial Fishing Could Receive Subsidies for Losses Due to Offshore Wind

July 29, 2021 — Nine states along the East Coast that are frontrunners for American offshore wind farms over the next decade are in talks with the federal government about ways to mitigate revenue losses for commercial fishing once the farms are built out.

Commercial fishing industries in the Mid-Atlantic have long been opposed to offshore wind farms, which coastal states and the Biden administration are pushing as a necessary component of a greener power grid. The fishing interests, which argue that the wind farms will interfere with their operations, are seen as the last major holdout to hundreds of wind turbines in the ocean from North Carolina to Massachusetts.

Commercial fisheries say the wind farms, which would be spread over hundreds of nautical miles, could displace wildlife, and shorten the amount of time spent fishing while at sea.

The nine states initially proposed providing some sort of subsidy to commercial fishing in a June 4 letter to President Joe Biden. Reuters first reported Wednesday that talks have begun between the federal government and states in how to offset fishing revenue losses.

Read the full story at NBC Philadelphia

Feds Consider Compensating Fishermen For Wind Energy Effects On Harvests

July 29, 2021 — The Mills administration is partnering with a commercial wind energy company, New England Aqua Ventus, to seek a lease of 16-square miles of federal waters south of for a wind farm of up to 12 wind turbines tens of miles south of Bremen, with a goal of researching novel “floating platform” technology and its effects on ecosystems and fisheries.

“It’s positive that the Biden Administration is examining these questions, and we look forward to learning more about their thinking,” said NEAV spokesman David Wilby. “While the process in Maine has already benefited from many participating voices – which is why the preferred site for the Research Array is as far from shore as it is – a standardized federal program for compensation holds promise.”

As the Biden administration and Gov. Janet Mills push the development of offshore wind energy projects, new efforts are emerging to look at compensation for commercial fishermen whose harvests might be hurt.

Last month the governors of nine Atlantic coast states, from Maine to Virginia, called on Biden to lead a regional approach to offshore wind development, including a plan for mitigating negative effects on fisheries.

Read the full story at Maine Public

U.S. studies plan to pay fishing industry for offshore wind impacts

July 28, 2021 — The Biden administration is considering ways to ensure the U.S. commercial fishing industry is paid for any losses it incurs from the planned expansion of offshore wind power in the Atlantic Ocean, according to state and federal officials involved in the matter.

Discussions between state and federal officials, which participants described as being at a very early stage, are aimed at addressing the top threat to President Joe Biden’s efforts to grow offshore wind – a centerpiece of his clean energy agenda to fight climate change.

Commercial fishing fleets have vehemently opposed offshore wind projects, labeling them a significant threat to catches of crucial stocks including scallops, clams, squid and lobsters, by interfering with navigation and altering ecosystems.

That opposition has contributed to delays in permitting the nation’s first commercial-scale projects and is among the reasons the U.S. has lagged Europe in offshore wind development. Minimizing those conflicts could speed the lengthy federal permitting process as Biden seeks to add 30 gigawatts of offshore wind to the nation’s waters in just nine years.

Read the full story at Reuters

Scallop fishermen seek buffer zone around New York Bight wind power areas

July 27, 2021 — Plans to open more of the New York Bight to offshore wind development will threaten the East Coast scallop fishing industry that brings in more than $425 million in dockside value annually and much more to the larger U.S. economy, fishing advocates say.

They say one immediate step should be creating a 5-nautical mile buffer zone between the southeastern edge of the Hudson South Lease Area that’s been proposed by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Hudson Canyon Access Area, highly productive scallop grounds that have supported the industry’s immense success over the last 20 years.

In the late 1990s, fishing pressure, declining scallop numbers and fishermen catching smaller scallops brought the fishery to crisis. But fishermen, scientists and regulators regrouped, creating a system of rotational scallop area management that federal scientists say has added more than $1 billion in revenue to coastal communities.

The Biden administration drive to develop more offshore wind, avidly supported by state governments in New York and New Jersey, will threaten that progress, representatives of the Fisheries Survival Fund and the port of New Bedford, Mass., told BOEM officials in a July 20 online conference, the group said.

“Proposed lease areas need to be thoroughly re-evaluated to reduce impacts to scallops and scallop fishermen, who operate in the most valuable federally managed fishery,” according to a statement issued by the group this week.

The proposed buffer zone would create a 5-nautical-mile strip inside BOEM’s mapped Hudson South wind energy area, standing off any future turbine construction from the southeastern edge that borders the Hudson Canyon scallop access area, said David Frulla, a lawyer with the Washington, D.C., firm Kelley Drye & Warren, which has represented the fund and other fishing groups.

“The buffer zone’s purpose is to make sure there is not a wind farm hard up against an access area,” said Frulla.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Fishermen Push BOEM for Changes to New York Bight Wind Lease Areas

July 27, 2021 — Last week, scallop fishermen and industry advocates urged the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to adjust the proposed New York Bight offshore wind lease areas.

The Fisheries Survival Fund, a group representing the Atlantic sea scallop fishery, explained that the industry officials asked BOEM officials on an online call to create a buffer zone to protect the valuable scallop fishery in the region.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Fishermen Call on BOEM to Change New York Bight Wind Leases to Protect Valuable Scallop Fishery

July 26, 2021 — The following was released by the Fisheries Survival Fund:

On Tuesday, July 20, scallop fishermen and industry advocates called for changes to proposed offshore wind leases in the New York Bight. In an online call with Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) officials, industry representatives highlighted the need for a buffer zone to protect the most valuable scallop area in the Mid-Atlantic and expressed concern over environmental and fisheries impacts of offshore wind development generally. Proposed lease areas need to be thoroughly re-evaluated to reduce impacts to scallops and scallop fishermen, who operate in the most valuable federally managed fishery.

The Port of New Bedford often comes to mind when thinking about the scallop industry, and rightfully so since it is America’s highest-value fishing port. But the fact is that coastal communities from Massachusetts to Virginia depend on scallops. According to the New England Fishery Management Council’s 2021 Scallop Fishery Management Plan update, Atlantic scallops comprise the majority of landed value in eight of the largest East Coast fishing ports, and over 40 percent in four others.

Data Courtesy of the NEFMC’s Scallop Framework Adjustment 33 (2010-2017)

Damage to the scallop industry will have far reaching consequences for working families in ports throughout the Atlantic coast. The harm will extend beyond fishermen and processing plant employees – many of whom are recent immigrants – to fuel docks, marine equipment suppliers, restaurants, and markets. Coastwide, scallops were worth well over half a billion dollars to coastal economies in 2019 and nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars when taking into account their processed value. And this does not include the additional economic value added by the remainder of the supply chain until the product ultimately reaches consumers in markets and restaurants.

One of the most consequential concerns expressed by fishermen on the call was the need for a buffer zone between the southeastern edge of the Hudson South Lease Area and the Hudson Canyon Access Area (HCAA). Stakeholders argued in favor of a five-mile buffer zone, which would help protect the HCAA from the negative environmental effects of offshore wind development. According to estimates in a published scientific paper lead-authored by the lead federal scallop scientist, the HCAA has added well over a billion dollars in revenues to coastal communities in the last two decades.

Offshore wind presents many potential environmental threats to marine ecosystems. The assembly of turbines displaces large amounts of sediment on the seafloor, creating scour and sediment plumes that can interfere with scallop growth and filter-feeding processes. The turbine arrays themselves can disrupt ocean currents and thus scallop larval flow and settlement. Wind farms create habitats for other filter feeding species like mussels, which compete for available phytoplankton, change the biological makeup of the surrounding area, and interfere with the sustainability of the resource. Young scallops also face increased predation from marine life known to proliferate in wind energy installations such as starfish and moon snails. Seismic activity involved in wind farm site assessment activities has also been shown to damage scallops.

During the meeting, representatives from both the scallop industry and the Port of New Bedford argued that BOEM has been more responsive to concerns of wind developers and other ocean user groups like the military and commercial shipping interests than to those of fishermen. They called for in-person meetings with fishermen to discuss impacts from the proposed wind lease areas. By conducting meetings strictly online, BOEM is excluding many fishermen who are not accustomed to and well-equipped for Zoom and other online platforms. Meaningful personal engagement is necessary to ensure equity and reduce negative impacts of offshore development in the New York Bight area.

While the Fisheries Survival Fund appreciates that new jobs in coastal communities and economic growth could accompany offshore wind development, the benefits should not come at the expense of those who have historically relied on the scallop fishery to provide for their families. The Fisheries Survival Fund hopes to engage in meaningful, honest discussion with both developers and BOEM to mitigate impacts, preserve access, and protect the livelihoods of fishermen throughout the East Coast.

NEW YORK: Mixed reviews for South Shore wind farm

July 19, 2021 — If Long Beach residents are concerned about a private company’s $3 billion proposal to build a 174-turbine wind farm 15 miles off the South Shore, few of them voiced it at a virtual hearing on the matter on July 8.

Only a handful of people commented at the second hearing held by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on a proposal by the Norway-based Equinor to build the Empire Wind project.

Equinor has been awarded contracts by New York state, the first of which was granted in 2019 to supply 816 megawatts of power to the state grid, connecting in Brooklyn. A second contract, for 1,260 megawatts, was awarded in January for Long Island’s South Shore.

What is key for Long Beach is a part of the project that calls for two offshore substations to collect the power, which would be routed by cables to one or more of several potential sites in Brooklyn. A Long Beach cable would also be connected to an Equinor substation, and to the Long Island Power Authority grid by way of a substation in Island Park. That cable could run under the barrier island.

Long Beach would not be involved in the overall approval process, but would have a say in the underground cable’s location.

Read the full story at the Long Island Herald