Saving Seafood

Vineyard Wind fisheries compensation meetings

April 24, 2024 — Offshore wind developers Vineyard Wind will hold a series of open-house events where fishermen can apply for a program to compensate for losses from development of the 804-megawatt offshore wind turbine array off southern New England.

The Vineyard Wind Fisheries Compensatory Mitigation Program is open from March 4 to June 3. To qualify for the program, commercial fishing vessel owners/ operators are required to submit an online application during the eligibility period.

The ongoing eligibility period to June 3 is the only time that commercial fishing vessel owners/operators will be able to qualify for compensation from the program. Vineyard Wind is hosting events to help fishermen apply for the program, each day from 9 a.m to 12 p.m.:

April 23: Montauk Fish Dock, 478 W. Lake Dive, Montauk, N.Y.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: A submerged concern: offshore wind cables

April 18, 2024 — As offshore wind turbines undergo construction in waters south of the Vineyard, and with some already standing and delivering power, the debates on the Island regarding the industry continue.

And amid the conversations over a necessity for clean energy, and whether the projects are a blow to the Vineyard’s natural charm — coupled with a mix of online misinformation campaigns against the offshore wind industry — one subject has remained submerged: undersea cables.

While cables — which connect wind farms to the New England power grid on the mainland — aren’t the flashiest parts of an offshore wind farm operation, some are nervous about what may lie ahead with them.

John Keene, president of the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, told the Times that some in the fishing industry are nervous about how the electromagnetic field from the cables can affect marine life.

Keene said the concern is that the fields emitted from cables could act like a fence, particularly for migratory species, and impact the behavior of marine species.

“There’s a lot of unknowns,” he said.

Read the full story at the MV Times

Feds Sign Off on New England Wind

April 9, 2024 — The nation’s eighth commercial-scale offshore wind energy project received federal approval earlier this month to move ahead with its plans for 129 turbines off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on April 2 greenlighted New England Wind for an area about 20 nautical miles south of the Island. The company expects it could generate up to 2,600 megawatts, the largest claim from any of the projects in the regulatory pipeline.

New England Wind now joins Vineyard Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind, South Fork Wind and others off the Mid-Atlantic states in approved projects.

Today, we celebrate the incredible progress being made toward achieving our goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030,” said Deb Haaland, the secretary of the Interior Department. “The New England Wind project will help lower consumer costs, combat climate change, create jobs to support families, and ensure economic opportunities are accessible to all communities.”

Read the full article at the Vineyard Gazette

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford fishermen get the nuts and the bolts of the Vineyard Wind compensation fund

March 23, 2024 — John Verissimo works as a fishing consultant following his career as a fishing boat captain and often answers calls about how the new Vineyard Wind Fisheries Compensation Fund will work.

“Basically, every day I’ll get a call from someone who will tell me, I need help with this, I need help with that, and if I don’t have the answer, I’ll get it,’ he said. “I support them by making sure they know what’s going on.”

He said he wants the fishermen who are eligible for this first-of-its-kind fund to feel comfortable with the process so that they will apply.

“My thing is I make sure that everyone understands this is the simplest way,” he said. “You’re going to wait, so the best thing to do is open this door and send in these things and let them know you’re working on the rest, and that way you don’t miss out.”

Read the full article at the Standard-Times

‘A lot of people are upset.’ Vineyard Wind compensation offer for fishermen stirs worries

March 20, 2024 — Commercial fishers who are sharing part of their customary fishing waters with Vineyard Wind may be eligible for compensation through the developers’ Fisheries Compensatory Mitigation Program — one that offers a $19.1 million bucket for Massachusetts fishers to dip into, and a combined $7.5 million for fishers from other states who’ve routinely plied the same area in recent years.

“It’s focused on fishermen who have traditionally fished in the area,” said Crista Bank, fisheries manager for Vineyard Wind.

So, in order to be eligible, fishers will need to show they’ve fished within the project’s lease area forat least three yearsbetween 2016 and 2022.

It’s meant to bring relief to fishers already limited by regulations and allowable catch volumes, though there are many questions among fishermen, as well as criticism that there isn’t enough funding, the eligibility criteria are too limiting, and the program doesn’t take into account the effects fishers who work outside of the lease area may experience.

A joint venture of Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, the 804-megawatt Vineyard Wind project is under construction in the shallow waters of the outer continental shelf 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. There are 62 turbines, each a mile apart, planned for the nearly 261-square-mile lease area. Five of them became fully operational on Feb. 21.

Read the full article at Cape Cod Times

 

Fishermen can now get paid if Vineyard Wind hurts business

March 19, 2o24 — Vineyard Wind is inviting fishermen to apply for compensation if they’ve been impacted by the offshore wind farm 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.

Fishermen have 90 days to show they’ve historically used the lease area. A third party administrator — with the help of fishing representatives — will decide how to divide up a $19.1 million pot through the Fisheries Compensatory Mitigation Program to Massachusetts fishermen.

Rhode Island fishermen will have access to $4.2 million, and $3.3 million will be divided between fishermen in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. The area may have been used by those who target everything from squid, to clams, scallops, lobster and more.

“I feel good about this mitigation fund,” said Beth Casoni, executive director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association. “Vineyard Wind is the first offshore wind developer to have steel in federal waters and to come out with their mitigation plan.”

Read the full article at wbur

Wind-farm opponents encouraged after hearing

March 9, 2024 — The U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals appears unlikely to overturn the approval of the Vineyard Wind offshore energy project sought by the advocacy group ACK for Whales (formerly Nantucket Residents Against Turbines), according to reporting from courthouse news services that covered a pretrial hearing Tuesday, citing questions the judges asked both sides.

But Amy DiSibio, a member of ACK for Whales who attended the hearing in Boston, had a much different take.

“I did not get that impression at all,” she said. “We left the courtroom feeling as confident as we could be, From what I understand the majority of these appeal cases get settled without a hearing. So, we felt really good that they were taking this seriously enough that they wanted (to hold a hearing).”

Read the full article at The Inquirer and Mirror

Compensation Program For Fishermen Impacted By Vineyard Wind Unveiled

March 7, 2024 — Avangrid is announcing that the Vineyard Wind 1 project has launched its Fisheries Compensatory Mitigation Program.

Avangrid says the third-party administered program seeks to provide fair, equitable compensation for commercial fishermen for economic impacts attributable to the project’s construction, operations, and decommissioning activities.

There’s a deadline of June 3rd for fishermen to qualify for compensation from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.

Read the full article at CapeCod.com

Fishermen can now get paid if Vineyard Wind hurts business

March 6, 2024 — Vineyard Wind is inviting fishermen to apply for compensation if they’ve been impacted by the offshore wind farm 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.

Fishermen have 90 days to show they’ve historically used the lease area and a third party administrator — with the help of fishing representatives — will decide how to divide up a $19.1 million pot through the Fisheries Compensatory Mitigation Program to Massachusetts fishermen.

Rhode Island fishermen will have access to $4.2 million, and $3.3 million will be divided between fishermen in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. The area may have been used by those who target everything from squid, to clams, scallops, lobster, and more.

“I feel good about this mitigation fund,” said Beth Casoni, executive director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association. “Vineyard Wind is the first offshore wind developer to have steel in federal waters and to come out with their mitigation plan.”

Plus, she added, the funds start at construction rather than completion of the wind farm, which is better for fishermen.

“The impact [of Vineyard Wind] will be real because [fishermen] cannot fish in there while they’re constructing it,” she said. “And the ecosystem is being disturbed to a level that they anticipated 100% decline during construction. So if you’re making $50,000 in that lease area, that’s a $50,000 hit you’re going to lose.”

Read the full article at CAI

Feds complete environmental review for New England Wind

February 26, 2024 — Another offshore wind project off the coast of the Vineyard is a step closer to coming to fruition.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced in a Monday press release it has completed an environmental review of the proposed New England Wind project, formerly known as Vineyard Wind South.

The agency will issue a record of decision on whether the project is approved no earlier than April, according to the release.

New England Wind is an offshore wind project proposed to be located 20 nautical miles from the southwestern corner of Martha’s Vineyard and about 24 nautical miles from Nantucket. The project is expected to generate 2,600 megawatts of power, which the release states would be enough to power over 900,000 homes.

Read the full article at The Martha’s Vineyard Times