July 19, 2021 — Fishermen in Morro Bay are about to get a much taller neighbor than the ancient volcanic mound that stands like a giant at the tip of the harbor.
Wind turbines are coming.
“These things are as big as skyscrapers,” says Chris Pavone, who’s among roughly 120 fishermen who trap, troll, and drop lines off Morro Bay and Avila Beach.
He’s worried about what could become the first offshore wind farm on the West Coast. Approved by the Biden administration, the project would bring roughly 200 floating turbines into the open ocean off the Central Coast.
It’s a huge leap towards California’s goal of 100% clean electric power by 2045, but fishermen say a 399-square mile wind farm will become another place they can’t fish, in addition to dozens of marine protected areas already out of bounds to them.
“If you saw a map of where you can’t fish, it’s like a mosaic on the ocean,” says Pavone. “For me to make a really good day and make money, I’m driving an hour, hour and a half in my boat.”