Saving Seafood

DELAWARE: US Wind gets green light from Delaware for offshore wind project What happens now?

December 11, 2024 — Delaware’s environmental division has approved three permits needed for US Wind’s offshore wind project off of the Maryland coast.

DNREC announced Monday, Dec. 9 that US Wind’s permits to utilize Delaware’s land to connect the turbines to a new substation were approved with stipulations that would require the company to employ mitigation strategies and fund certain conservation efforts around the Delaware beaches.

“This is an important step forward,” said Jeff Grybowski, US Wind CEO. “After a thorough, science-based review by DNREC’s experts, and feedback from the public, we are thrilled to have secured these final approvals to move forward on delivering massive amounts of clean energy to the region. Offshore wind will help lower electricity bills for the people of Delaware, satisfy the region’s critical need for more electricity and improve air quality across the state, all while supporting good local jobs.

Read the full article at Delaware Online

Maryland can start construction on its first offshore wind farm

December 5, 2024 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved US Wind’s Construction and Operations Plan for Maryland’s first offshore wind farm Tuesday.

The state has ambitious offshore wind goals and past failed agreements with Danish renewable energy giant Orsted.

“After more than four years of rigorous and robust analysis, we are thrilled to have secured this final BOEM approval,” said US Wind CEO Jeff Grybowski. “US Wind’s projects will produce massive amounts of homegrown energy and will help satisfy the region’s critical need for more electricity, all while supporting good local jobs.”

The Maryland Offshore Wind Project is planned in three phases, two of which have been named – MarWin and Momentum Wind – and have received offshore renewable energy certificates from the state of Maryland.

Read the full story at The Center Square

Ocean City continues with lawsuit following US Wind receiving final approval

December 4, 2024 — US Wind, Inc. announced Tuesday that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has granted final approval for the company’s Construction and Operations Plan, completing the federal permitting process for its offshore wind project.

“This is a proud moment for US Wind,” said Jeff Grybowski, US Wind CEO. “After more than four years of rigorous and robust analysis, we are thrilled to have secured this final BOEM approval. US Wind’s projects will produce massive amounts of homegrown energy and will help satisfy the region’s critical need for more electricity, all while supporting good local jobs.”

The project, located in a federal lease area off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, has the potential to generate up to 2 gigawatts of offshore wind power — enough to power more than 600,000 homes in the region, according to US Wind.

However, the project has faced significant opposition from the Ocean City community and other local organizations. The Town of Ocean City, joined by groups such as the Worcester County Commissioners, Coastal Association of Realtors and the Commercial and Recreational Fishing Industry, say they will continue to move forward with a lawsuit against BOEM to challenge its approval of US Wind’s project.

Read the full story at Coast TV

US Wind Wins Final Approval for Offshore Wind Project

December 4, 2024 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued its final approval of US Wind’s construction of a wind project off the coast of Delmarva.

According to US Wind, BOEM issued the permit for the Construction and Operations Plan, the final step in the company’s ongoing federal permitting application Tuesday, December 3.

The approved project includes the construction and operation of up to 114 wind turbine generators, up to four offshore substation platforms, a meteorological tower, and offshore export cable corridors. The project could also see wind power cables coming ashore under 3Rs Beach in Delaware.

The Town of Ocean City, along with multiple co-plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit in October challenging BOEM’s approval process of US Wind’s proposed project.

Read the full story at WBOC

VIMS scientists critique research linking osprey declines to menhaden industry

November 29, 2024 — There is a long-running battle in Virginia over how to manage the menhaden fishery – and the lack of data about the species continues to be front and center.

Research that touches on menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay has long been contentious, because it helps inform how officials choose to regulate the controversial fishery.

The latest disagreement is playing out in scientific literature. Three scientists at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science, which conducts research for state regulators, recently published a formal critique of a study linking declines in the local osprey population to the menhaden industry.

The study they critiqued came from another arm of William & Mary: the Center for Conservation Biology, which studies birds.

The center has monitored ospreys for years. Director Bryan Watts said they’ve now seen the birds struggling to reproduce for more than a decade.

His team published a study earlier this year recording the lowest number of osprey chicks since the 1970s. They said the baby birds are dying of starvation, and posit that’s because there aren’t enough menhaden for them to eat.

Read the full article at WHRO

MARYLAND: Maryland gives go-ahead to permit allowing offshore wind farm to move forward

November 21, 2024 — The Board of Public Works approved a permit Wednesday needed to begin an offshore windmill project in the Delmarva Peninsula, despite objections from Ocean City residents worried about the environmental impact on local wetlands.

The permit, requested by Baltimore wind company US Wind, did not deal with the company’s proposal to build a 114-turbine wind farm 8 miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. Wednesday’s permit was to expand a 353-foot-long pier in West Ocean City that will perform a supporting role in the company’s plan to build offshore wind turbines and bring renewable energy to Maryland.

That plan for the Sinepuxent Bay pier, which is currently used by local fishers, sparked nearly two hours of testimony Wednesday from supporters and opponents of the proposal, some of them delivering passionate pleas. Ultimately, the three-member board voted unanimously to approve.

Maryland Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain argued in favor of the proposal, saying it had passed department review and should be approved.

Read the full article at the Capital News Service 

For 2nd year, Chesapeake Bay’s striped bass population is down: Regulators will decide if more rules are needed

November 18, 2024 — Striped bass populations in the lower Chesapeake Bay are not doing well, marking the second year in a row for below-average numbers in Virginia waters.

According to a 2024 survey from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, which monitors the success of young bass in the lower Chesapeake Bay, this year was “significantly lower” than the historical average. In Maryland, the Department of Natural Resources reported it saw the sixth consecutive year that young striped bass fell far below the long-term average.

During the Virginia survey, researchers usually get about 7.77 fish per haul, but the latest count had only about 3.43.

Read the full article at phys.org

MARYLAND: Low spawning success documented again for striped bass

November 13, 2024 — The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced results of this year’s juvenile striped bass survey, which tracks the reproductive success of Maryland’s state fish in the Chesapeake Bay. The 2024 young-of-year index is 2.0, well below the long-term average of 11.0, and marks the sixth consecutive year of poor reproduction.

“These results underscore the complexity of managing a coastal migratory species whose life-cycle is influenced by environmental conditions during a brief spawning period,” Maryland DNR Fishing and Boating Services Director Lynn Fegley said in a release. “We will continue to explore ways to conserve and enhance the spawning population during this time when we are adding fewer young fish to the population.”

During this annual survey, fishery managers examine 22 sites located in four major striped bass spawning areas: the Choptank, Nanticoke, and Potomac rivers, and the upper Chesapeake Bay. Biologists visit each site three times per summer, collecting fish with two sweeps of a 100-foot beach seine net

Read the full article at Southern Maryland News

US East Coast states select firms to run offshore wind development compensation fund for fishers

November 12, 2024 — A coalition of U.S. East Coast states have selected two firms to manage the Offshore Wind Fisheries Compensation Fund, a mitigation program built to compensate commercial and recreation for-hire fishers for revenue lost due to offshore wind developments.

The fund is a collaboration between the governments of 11 East Coast states – Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina – to provide financial compensation for economic loss caused by offshore wind projects along the Atlantic Coast. The states launched a competition earlier this year to select an administrator to run the new fund.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Richmond firm to oversee fishermen compensation related to offshore wind farms

November 6, 2024 — Richmond claims resolution firm BrownGreer PLC and London’s The Carbon Trust have been tapped to design and roll out a regional fisheries mitigation program on the East Coast.

The program is aimed at providing financial compensation to the commercial and recreational for-hire fishing industries related to the impacts of new offshore wind farms.

BrownGreer and The Carbon Trust will work with 11 East Coast states and their respective fishing industry communities on the program. The groups have established a design oversight committee and a for-hire committee to provide advice and guidance from respective parties on the program.

The involved states include Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.

Read the full article at Richmond Inno