May 8, 2023 — The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is moving forward with its exploration of offshore wind potential in the Gulf of Maine, announcing a public comment period that began April 26 and lasts 45 days.
Input is being sought on commercial wind energy development in areas off the coast of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.
Click HERE to watch Senator Collins’ exchange with Secretary Gina Raimondo. Click HERE to download.
May 2, 2023 — The following was released by the office of Senator Susan Collins:
At a hearing to review the fiscal year 2024 budget request for the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, questioned Secretary Gina Raimondo on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) broken survey vessel, which is leading to incomplete survey work for the Gulf of Maine. Specifically, Senator Collins emphasized the deep knowledge of Maine’s fishermen and encouraged NOAA to work with them to better survey the Gulf of Maine, which will help inform more accurate quotas.
At the hearing, Senator Collins:
Last week, I was notified that the start of the Northeast Spring Bottom Trawl Survey will be delayed for the third time, because NOAA’s survey vessel, the Henry B. Bigelow, is not functioning properly. And I have a feeling this affects others of my colleagues. So, we still don’t know when this vessel will be functional. But, according to NOAA’s staff, it can only be used for this survey through May 26. But it may not be fixed in time. So, that means, according to NOAA, that NOAA will have to decrease the survey coverage; and that only 70% of the planned coverage area, in southern New England, Georges Bank and the Bank of Maine, will be surveyed.
I recently met with a group of Maine fishermen who shared their great frustration about incomplete surveys. Because if you don’t have accurate surveys, you can’t determine the quota. If you don’t know how many fish are out there, you can’t decide, accurately, what the quota is. And the fishermen are on the water every day. They have the best information about the state of the stock, and they’re not involved in the surveys. So, I would ask you, if your vessel is going to be out of commission, and as I said, this is the third time this has happened, I would ask you to consider collaborating with the fishermen, who work in the Gulf of Maine and in these other areas, on better data collection methods. They’re willing to help. And they do know where the fish are; that’s where they go. I hope you will consider that, because, otherwise, we’re going to end up with quotas that don’t reflect the state of the stock.
Secretary Raimondo:
I will look into this. I’ve taken notes. You’re exactly right, about the surveys, how vital they are. We had a lot of problems, in COVID, staying on top of the surveys on time. We’re mostly caught up. I regret that we’re not caught up in Maine. So, let me look into it and get back to you.
If we’re allowed to collaborate in the way you suggest, with the fishermen, I think it’s a smart idea. But let me get into the details.
April 26, 2023 — President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday said it had finalized an area of nearly 10 million acres in the Gulf of Maine for potential offshore wind development, a major step toward expanding the industry into northern New England.
The announcement was the latest milestone in the government’s plan to put wind turbines along every U.S. coastline to help displace fossil fuel for power generation and fight climate change
In a statement, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it would kick off a 45-day period for public comment on the area, which sits off the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.
The final “call area” was identified after soliciting feedback from tribes, states, the Department of Defense, fishing and shipping industries and the public. It is nearly 30% smaller than the area BOEM identified in an initial “Request for Interest” last year.
February 27, 2023 — Already one of the fastest-warming bodies of water in the world, the Gulf of Maine recorded its second-hottest year ever in 2022, another ominous indicator of how global warming threatens the rich marine world off New England.
The Gulf of Maine Research Institute reported recently that average annual sea surface temperature for the sprawling ocean waters clocked in at 53.66 degrees Fahrenheit last year, more than 3.72 degrees above a 30-year average measured earlier this century. In 2021, the average annual sea surface temperature was even slightly higher, at 54.09 degrees.
The rapid rise in water temperatures has dire consequences, such as the loss of marine species, some of which are major sources of food and commercial fishing activities, and rising sea levels that can damage coastal communities.
“It’s part of a multidecadal trend that … has profound implications for not just people who rely on the Gulf of Maine for their livelihoods and well-being but also for coastal communities,” said Dave Reidmiller, director of the Climate Center at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
Home to more than 3,000 aquatic species and birds, the gulf is “one of the most biologically productive marine ecosystems” in the North Atlantic, according to the Gulf of Maine Association. It covers a 36,000-square-mile area from the tip of Cape Cod to Cape Sable in Nova Scotia, and its historically cold waters are a key reason why the gulf is such a viable environment for marine life.
The temperature of the gulf has been rising rapidly for more than a century, at a rate more than three times that of the world’s oceans, according to the institute’s report released last week. It surpassed the average temperature of the global oceans in the 1990s.
Rising gulf temperatures are also, in large part, why New England itself is warming faster than the planetary average, scientists say.
January 25, 2023 — A big plan was revealed in Augusta Tuesday to bring floating wind turbines to the Gulf of Maine.
The bill to jumpstart offshore wind development was unveiled at the State House.
Supporters claim the bill is about boosting responsible offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine, saying it will help drive down energy costs across the board.
They believe Maine could become an industry leader in offshore wind as a potential major source of clean energy.
January 20, 2023 — The potential use of wind turbines off the coast of Maine to generate electricity has drawn scientific and commercial interest for at least a decade – and now the federal government is taking a next step to determine where those turbines might go.
The U.S. Department of the Interior last August issued a formal request-of-interest to gauge the potential market for wind-energy leases within about 13.7 million acres of the Gulf of Maine. The department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has scaled this site down to a “draft call area” of 9.9 million acres, and now is looking to obtain public feedback on leasing the waters for commercial wind-power production.
The bureau will hold a meeting in Portland on Thursday to receive input from marine businesses, fishermen and other ocean users about the location and size of the area. The meeting is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. at the Holiday Inn By the Bay, 88 Spring St., and the agenda and more information can be found here.
October 17, 2022 — It seems like an insurmountable engineering feat: Tow concrete hulls weighing 12,000 tons far offshore, erect towers atop them that rise hundreds of feet above the ocean with rotor blades the span of a football field, and somehow get them to produce significant amounts of wind energy despite the violent seas and notorious weather of the North Atlantic Ocean.
All that without embedding the colossal structures into the seafloor, because unlike traditional offshore wind turbines, these will float.
And that’s exactly what Habib Dagher intends to pull off in the Gulf of Maine, with the first of these monumental structures planned for a location a few miles off the coast of Monhegan Island in 2025.
September 21, 2022 — Several New England and national environmental groups say the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is making a mistake by moving forward to designate wind energy areas in the Gulf of Maine.
The Conservation Law Foundation and other groups asked BOEM in May to do “a comprehensive environmental review” before proceeding with outlining potential areas for wind projects. Activists are criticizing the agency, which on Aug. 19 published a “request for interest” from wind development companies.
Read the full article at the National Fisherman
September 20, 2022 — The following was released by the Conservation Law Foundation:
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has declined to conduct a comprehensive environmental review before designating areas for offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine. Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) and several partners had pushed for a full review to be done before wind areas are chosen.
“This decision epitomizes short-term thinking that will only cause problems in the long run,” said Erica Fuller, Senior Attorney at CLF. “It’s simply backwards to choose areas for offshore wind development before doing a full environmental analysis, which would ultimately save time and money if done now. It is critical to advance offshore wind to respond to the climate crisis and clean up our electric grid, but it must be done in a science-based, inclusive and transparent way.”
Considered to be one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, the Gulf of Maine plays a significant role in the culture of New England and is the foundation for a coastal economy characterized by commercial and recreational fishing, aquaculture, recreational boating, shipping, and tourism.
CLF was joined in this effort by 350NH, Acadia Center, Blue Ocean Society, Friends of Casco Bay, Island Institute, League of Conservation Voters, Maine Conservation Voters, Maine Audubon, Mass. Audubon, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Council of Maine, NRDC, New England Aquarium, New Hampshire Audubon, Oceana, and Surfrider Foundation.
August 25, 2022 — The Maine Lobstering Union is agreeing to drop part of its lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Services, where the federal agency is closing a 960-square-mile section of the Gulf of Maine to lobster fishers.
Federal regulators said this section of ocean is prime habitat for North Atlantic right whales and argued blocking that part of the ocean off from buoy lines from Oct. 18 to Jan. 31, 2023, would help reduce the risk posed to entanglements between lobster gear and whales.
Alfred C Frawley with McCloskey, Mina, Cunniff, and Frawley, LLC, said in an email the move was made as federal agencies add more regulations against the lobster industry.
“The MLU has taken the procedural step of agreeing to dismiss its case in Maine, which was largely mooted by the DC Court’s recent decision, in order to focus its resources on the ongoing litigation in DC and on ensuring that NMFS issues a new rule that both protects the North Atlantic right whale and ensures the sustainability of Maine’s lobster fishery,” Frawley said in an email to NEWS CENTER Maine.