Saving Seafood

NEFMC Discusses Offshore Wind, Clam Dredge FW, Skates, Groundfish, Herring, IFM, and More at Mid-April Meeting

April 25, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:  

The New England Fishery Management Council met April 17-19 in Mystic, CT and discussed a wide range of issues that touched on everything from industry-funded monitoring to whether or not river herring and shad should be considered as stocks in the Atlantic herring fishery. In several cases, the Council directed its species committees to conduct additional analyses for further consideration before taking action.

The Council received an overview of offshore wind energy initiatives in the Atlantic region. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is collecting public comment on several projects. Since the comment periods end before the Council meets again June 12-14, 2018 in Portland, ME, the Council authorized its Habitat Committee and staff to draft comment letters for the following solicitations:

  • Vineyard Wind – BOEM has issued a notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement;
  • New York Bight – BOEM has issued a “call for information.” The Council’s letter, among other things, will include an analysis of fisheries active in the call areas;
  • Massachusetts Areas – BOEM has issued a proposed sale notice for additional lease areas off Massachusetts. Within its comments, the Council will express its position that, if granted, any lease provisions should require developers to have a Fishery Communication Plan and Fisheries Liaison; and
  • Path Forward – BOEM is collecting comments on a proposed “path forward for offshore wind leasing.” In addition to providing specific suggestions, the Council will request a 90-day extension to the comment deadline, which at present is May 21.

View the release in its entirety here.

 

Offshore wind farms concern fisherpeople

April 25, 2018 — When Greg Mataronas steams out of Narragansett Bay as early as 3 a.m., he is headed for grounds he knew as an eight-year-old. A native Rhode Islander, Mataronas grew up lobstering in Little Compton. After college, he returned to the ocean, unable to resist a profession rife with memories of his childhood. But as a commercial lobsterman, Mataronas’ days are far from youthful. Early morning wake-up calls, 16-hour days and occasional bouts of seasickness take their physical toll, and he has watched the lobster population around him decline over the last two decades. But more than the grueling lifestyle, there is a new force threatening Mataronas’ ability to provide for his wife and children: offshore wind energy.

Many fisherpeople see a future where segments of their industry will ultimately disappear unless the federal government ensures their concerns are taken into account in the construction and development of wind farms. Fisherpeople’s fears include the incompatibility of certain types of fishing gear with the clustered placement of wind turbines and a lack of site-specific research regarding economic and ecological impacts of the turbines.

Meghan Lapp, a fisheries liaison for Seafreeze Limited, an R.I.-based producer and trader of sea-frozen seafood, is also frustrated with a lack of communication between fisherpeople and wind energy companies. Though BOEM requires each wind energy company to construct and implement a “fisheries communication plan,” which details how the company will engage with and hear from the fishing industry, many fisherpeople complain that talk is not translating into action.

“All of our concerns fall on deaf ears,” Lapp said. “I personally have been meeting with BOEM for three years.” Lapp added that she gave “confidential business information” from over 20 fishing vessels to BOEM to demonstrate that there was heavy fishing activity on one particular lease site, but she said BOEM issued the lease regardless.   

Read the full story at the Brown Daily Herald

 

Trump Drilling Plans Raise Concerns Over Discarded Poison Gas, Nuke Waste

April 24, 2018 — The Trump administration’s proposal to open large tracts of seabed off the South Carolina coast to oil and gas exploration has drawn a sharp rebuke from a statewide business advocacy group concerned about the thousands of unexploded bombs, poison gas and radioactive waste that were dumped in the planned exploration zone.

In a written a statement submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Frank Knapp of the South Carolina Business Chamber of Commerce, said oil and gas exploration off the coast would increase the risk of disturbing long-dormant hazards and contaminating marine life harvested by fisherman up and down the east coast.

“We have a tremendous stake in our coastal economy and environmental health of ocean and coast,” said Knapp, the chamber’s chief executive officer.

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service

 

Massachusetts: Concerns, support aired at offshore wind hearings in Hyannis, on Nantucket

April 20, 2018 — NANTUCKET, Mass. — Attendees at public hearings in Hyannis and on Nantucket Wednesday for one of three offshore wind energy projects proposed for south of Martha’s Vineyard had questions about the environment, potential jobs and the effects on commercial and recreational fishing.

But others fully welcomed the benefit of a renewable energy project that — unlike Cape Wind, they said — appears to have a chance of coming to fruition.

“I’m just hoping that this will be the beginning of a national shift,” said Nantucket resident Colin Wyatt Leddy, who said he was “terribly sorry” to see Cape Wind not succeed.

The Cape Wind project, once slated for Nantucket Sound, is in the midst of relinquishing its lease with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

With four public meetings under their belt, and a fifth in Kingston, Rhode Island today, Vineyard Wind executives are moving into the heavy lifting of federal permitting for their 400 to 800 megawatt project planned off the Vineyard.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

Massachusetts: Fishermen air concerns about Vineyard Wind

April 19, 2018 — Looking to create a sea change in energy production in Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Baker signed “An Act to Promote Energy Diversity” with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2016. A key provision of the legislation mandated that utilities solicit long-term contracts with offshore wind farm developers, with the goal of adding 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2027.

Fast-forward to Tuesday night, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, where federal and state officials, along with representatives from Vineyard Wind, gathered for a “scoping session” to hear how Islanders feel about having the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States — 106 turbines, 700 feet tall, spaced about a mile apart, covering 167,000 acres — being built 14 miles south of home. The facility will produce between 400 and 800 megawatts of electricity.

Tuesday’s Tisbury gathering was one of five scoping sessions to be held this week by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in southeast Massachusetts and Rhode Island, to garner public input for the Vineyard Wind draft environmental impact statement (EIS).

Turnout was robust. The discussion remained even-keeled, which, according to one member of the large BOEM contingent, was a stark contrast to the previous night’s heated scoping session in New Bedford.

Read the full story at the Martha’s Vineyard Times

Jon Mitchell: Wind Developers Must Take Fishermen Seriously

April 12, 2018 — Earlier this week, fishing industry officials sent a letter to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker asking for a larger role in the decision making when it comes to granting the state’s first offshore wind contract.

The letter particularly asked for the New Bedford Port Authority to act as the mediator between commercial fishing and wind energy, and in his weekly appearance on WBSM, Mayor Jon Mitchell said that request makes “all the sense in the world.”

“The place where these two industries intersect more than anywhere else will be New Bedford,” he said, noting he agrees that the fishermen haven’t been given enough of a voice. “That’s why we’re prepared to do something about it.”

Mitchell, who as mayor is also chair of the Port Authority, says the fishermen have valid concerns that he feels may have fallen on deaf ears.

“It has to do with safe navigation through wind farms, and with the siting of new wind farms that might intrude on traditional fishing grounds,” he said. “Wind developers have to do a better job of taking fishermen seriously, and we’re going to work on that. We’re going to make sure that they are taken more seriously.”

Read the full story at WBSM

NEFMC Meeting: April 17-19, 2018, Mystic, CT, Listen Live, View Documents

April 11, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold a three-day meeting from Tuesday, April 17 through Thursday, April 19, 2018. The public is invited to listen-in via webinar or telephone. Here are the details.

MEETING LOCATION:  Hilton Hotel, 20 Coogan Boulevard, Mystic, CT 06355; Hilton Hotel Mystic.

START TIME:  The webinar will be activated at 8:00 a.m. each day. However, please note that the meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday and 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. The webinar will end at approximately 6:00 p.m. EST or shortly after the Council adjourns each day.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting is available at Listen Live. There is no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (914) 614-3221. The access code is 167-206-035. Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The agenda and all meeting materials are available on the Council’s website at April 17-19, 2018 NEFMC Mystic.

SPECIAL EVENT:  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Office of Renewable Energy Programs will be holding an open house on Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in conjunction with the Council meeting. The event will be held in the Clipper Room near the Council’s main meeting room. BOEM has scheduled this open house to: (a) gather feedback on recently proposed commercial offshore renewable energy projects; (b) enhance communications between leaseholders and the fishing community; (c) answer questions about future leasing; and (d) solicit public comment on recently published public notices, including the Vineyard Wind project, which currently is under a 30-day public comment period with five public hearings scheduled from April 16 through April 19. Four will be held in Massachusetts (New Bedford, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and Hyannis) and one in Kingston, RI. Learn more at Vineyard Wind notice and hearing schedule and visit open house.

GROUNDFISH NOTE:  On Wednesday morning, the Council will receive an overview of Northeast Fishery Sector IX’s steps to address its shortcomings, as well as a summary of Sector IX’s proposed operations plan as submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office. Because of recent information received from the industry, NMFS’s consultation with the Council on Sector IX likely will include: (a) discussion of the proposed Sector VII operations plan amendments that relate to Sector IX; (b) other sectors as they relate to Sector IX; and (c) effects on the sector system generally. The Council may provide recommendations to NMFS on any topics discussed.

 THREE MEETING OUTLOOK:  A copy of the New England Council’s Three Meeting Outlook is available HERE.

 

BOEM Seeks Input on Future Offshore Renewable Energy Leasing

April 5, 2018 — In support of the Administration’s all-of-the-above energy policy and using every tool available to achieve energy dominance, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is conducting a high-level assessment of all waters offshore the United States Atlantic Coast for potential future offshore wind lease locations.

BOEM is seeking your input on the Proposed Path Forward for Future Offshore Renewable Energy Leasing on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf through a Request for Feedback (RFF) that will publish in the Federal Register on April 6, 2018.

“The Administration continues to make great progress toward securing America’s energy future,” said Counselor for Energy Policy, Vincent DeVito. “The outlook for offshore wind is bright and today, we are taking the next step to ensure a domestic offshore wind industry.”

To help assess which geographic areas along the Atlantic are the most likely to have highest potential for successful offshore wind development, BOEM is considering multiple factors, highlighted below.

Factors that make an area more likely to be excluded:

1. Areas prohibited by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act for leasing.
2. Department of Defense conflict areas.
3. Charted marine vessel traffic routes.

Read the full story at Ocean News & Technology

 

Feds begin environmental review of Vineyard Wind

April 3, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The federal government is gathering public comments for an environmental report on the Vineyard Wind offshore wind proposal.

Five public meetings are scheduled this month in New Bedford, Vineyard Haven, Nantucket, Hyannis, and at the University of Rhode Island.

The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management plans to prepare an environmental impact statement on Vineyard Wind’s construction and operations plan. Vineyard Wind, a partnership between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables, has proposed an 800-megawatt project off the coast of Massachusetts.

The project could include up to 106 wind turbines, beginning about 14 miles southeast of Martha’s Vineyard.

A 30-day comment period runs through Monday, April 30.

Opposition to offshore drilling hardening in Massachusetts

March 19, 2018 — BOSTON — Opposition to a Trump administration proposal to allow oil and gas drilling in coastal waters, including those off the Atlantic coast of Massachusetts, continues to grow on Beacon Hill.

Just this week, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced she’s considering taking legal action against the administration to protect “the people, economy and natural resources of Massachusetts from the grave risks posed by unprecedented oil and gas leasing.”

“Despite concerns from the fishing industry, clean energy developers, marine scientists and thousands of residents up and down the coast that depend on a healthy ocean, this administration has repeatedly ignored the serious economic and environmental risks of offshore drilling,” Healey said as she filed comments with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management opposing the plan.

Healey isn’t alone.

Fellow Democratic attorneys general from a dozen coastal states, including neighboring Rhode Island and Connecticut, have also written Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke protesting the drilling plan.

Other critics include Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward Markey and the state’s entire Democratic congressional delegation as well as members of the fishing and tourism industries and environmental groups.

Zinke continues to defend the plan, which faces fierce opposition in states along the entire West Coast and much of the East Coast. Florida was dropped from the plan after the state’s Republican governor and lawmakers pointed to risks to the state’s tourism business.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe