Saving Seafood

Feds Commit $82 Million to Protect North Atlantic Right Whale

June 14, 2023 — Six months after an unprecedented number of humpback whale deaths occurred along the New Jersey coast, the federal government announced billions in funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that includes an $82 million commitment to the conservation and protection of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The funds are part of the total $3.3 billion earmarked for NOAA under the Inflation Reduction Act to address climate change.

“We will provide direct support for the application of newer technologies, such as passive acoustic monitoring. We will invest in the development and, ultimately, implementation of new technologies to enable vessels to detect and avoid right whales and other large whales,” according to NOAA’s webpage on how it will prioritize the federal dollars. “This will reduce one of the primary threats to this species. We will continue developing and evaluating new technologies, such as satellite observations, to transform North Atlantic right whale monitoring and to improve understanding of the whales’ distribution and habitat use.”

Read the full article at The Sand Paper

NEW JERSEY: Offshore wind encounters turbulence over NJ

June 8, 2023 — The offshore wind industry’s troubles continue to pile up — not only in New Jersey but in neighboring states along the Eastern Seaboard.

On Wednesday, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Joseph Fiordaliso, perhaps one of the sector’s biggest advocates, let loose with an uncharacteristic rant at a developer in the emerging industry. Although he did not name the company, it was seen as a reference to Ørsted, which owns and is developing New Jersey’s initial offshore wind project.

Fiordaliso expressed frustration over repeated delays in moving forward with the project. “Your delays are intolerable,’’ he said. As was his custom, he had an offshore wind logo pinned on his suit.

“We cannot afford any more delays,’’ Fiordaliso said, adding there are no delays in the pace of climate change. “Some of the things that are being delayed are indefensible.’’

The agency, which is overseeing the state’s offshore wind efforts, also deferred action on a related issue that Brian Lipman, director of the Division of Rate Counsel, urged the regulators to delay. In a letter to the agency, Lipman said his office had no opportunity to assess the potential impact of a proposal to make changes in how the state connects electricity generated by the wind farms to the power grid.

Read the full article at New Jersey Spotlight News

NEW JERSEY: Wind Farm Protesters March in Ocean City

May 31, 2023 — Kathleen Harper said she had never been part of an organized protest before. But she felt compelled to join with other protesters Saturday in Ocean City in opposition to a proposed offshore wind farm project that critics believe would be nothing less than an environmental “disaster.”

Harper, who lives in Dennis Township, carried a sign that declared, “Stop the Wind Turbines. Save the Whales. Protect Our Oceans.” She also placed a toy shark on top of her head as another symbol of her concerns for the marine life.

“I’m worried about the loss of our whales and the destruction of our ocean floor,” she said.

Harper reflects a growing movement that has brought together grass-roots protesters like herself with political leaders representing the coastal communities at the Jersey Shore to oppose plans for the Ocean Wind 1 project that would stretch from Atlantic City to Stone Harbor, 15 miles offshore.

Amid applause and cheers from Harper and other protesters, speaker after speaker denounced the wind farm during a rally Saturday morning that began in a small park across from City Hall and continued with a march across the Route 52 causeway bridge connecting Ocean City and Somers Point.

Read the full article at OCNJDaily

NEW JERSEY: Blue state county votes unanimously against offshore wind development

May 31, 2023 — A county in New Jersey voted unanimously to oppose an offshore wind farm proposed for its coastline, citing the project’s negative impacts on the environment, tourism industry and beach vistas.

In a 4-0 vote this week, the Cape May County, New Jersey, Board of Commissioners passed a resolution green-lighting reasonable use of all the county’s resources to oppose the wind projects developed by Danish multinational energy company Orsted. The county is also considering legal options and appealed a state public utility permit it says would transfer “real property interests” from residents to Orsted.

“At first, the County of Cape May was interested in trying to work with Orsted to find a way forward, perhaps with some modifications to the project to reduce visual, environmental and economic impacts,” Cape May County Board of Commissioners Director Len Desiderio said in a statement.

Read the full article at Fox News

Feds move wind power proposals forward

May 23, 2023 — Two major wind power projects planned off the New Jersey coast have taken big steps forward with the completion of an environmental impact study for Ocean Wind 1 and the opening of the public comment portion of a draft environmental analysis for Atlantic Shores.

In announcing each development, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management described each as supporting the Biden-Harris administration’s offshore energy goals. President Joe Biden has presented offshore wind as a key part of plans to reduce the impact of climate change and build the nation’s renewable power infrastructure.

Weighing in at 570 pages, not counting more than a dozen appendices, the environmental impact statement for Ocean Wind 1 supports the construction of 98 turbines starting 15 miles off the coast and describes most potential impacts of the project as minor or negligible.

 Read the full article at The Press of Atlantic City

New Jersey State Senator Michael Testa claims ENGO hypocrisy on offshore wind and whales

May 19, 2023 — The following transcript is excerpted from an interview by New Jersey State Senator Michael Testa on Fox & Friends:

Fox & Friends: GOP lawmakers in New Jersey want an immediate stop to offshore wind projects over growing concern about a spike in whale deaths. Since December alone, 32 dead whales have washed up on beaches along the East Coast. Republican state senators are asking for a 30 to 60 day pause on construction to see if it helps. Michael Testa is one of them and he joins us now.

So who exactly are the groups or the people who would be opposing a 30 to 60 day, very sensible pause to see what’s going on with the whales?

Sen. Testa: Well, it seems to be Ørsted, who’s the company that wants to have the wind farms, as well as the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, which makes absolutely no sense to me because I always thought that those were the groups that were there to protect the whales and to create bumper stickers that say ‘save the whales.’ And I think that they’re being completely intellectually disingenuous here. We know that if this were an exploration for offshore oil drilling, that if one whale carcass were to wash up on one of New Jersey’s shores, they would be surrounding that carcass holding hands with, you know, tears streaming down their face, singing Kumbaya.

Fox & Friends: What is their explanation for not wanting to see an environmental impact on whales?

Sen. Testa: Well, their explanation is the reason that the whales and dolphins are washing up on our shores in record numbers is due to climate change. That’s why we need to rush to erect these massive wind farms, which, you know, quite frankly, a lot of people have now testified and believe are contributing to whales washing up on our shores in record numbers. But it’s always their cry. This is their mantra. This is climate change. And if you ever question their green energy agenda, you’re labelled a science denier, a climate change denier.

We also have to really question what the environmental impact is going to be to our commercial fishing industry as well as our recreational fishing industry and look, Cape May County, Atlantic County, Ocean County and Monmouth County, tourism is the lifeblood of their summer economy.What are these wind farms going to do if whales and dolphins continue to wash up on our shores?

We also don’t know what the erection of these massive wind farms [is] going to do to our ocean floor and what type of environmental long term environmental impact that is going to have on our oyster business, scallop business.

Watch the full interview here

NEW JERSEY: Wind project scope ‘staggering’

May 18, 2023 — It wasn’t “until the whales and the dolphins started washing up that people’s attention was able to focus” on the offshore wind farms, according to Cindy Zipf, and when people looked beyond the whales, they realized what is happening is “staggering.”

“I don’t think ever in the history of mankind have we proposed to industrialize an ecosystem this fast and at this magnitude,” she said.

Zipf is executive director of Clean Ocean Action, a coalition of groups dedicated to protecting the ocean.

She said the group is not against offshore wind farms but ardently believes there should be a pilot project to determine their impact on the ocean, marine species and industries that thrive on the ocean rather than a headlong rush to place turbines up and down the coast not just off New Jersey, but from South Carolina to Massachusetts.

The project closest to fruition here is Ocean Wind 1 by the Danish company Ørsted. Ocean Wind 1 plans 98 massive wind turbines 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic and Cape May counties with transmission cables that would run through Ocean City to Beesleys Point in Upper Township, where they would connect to the power grid.

Read the full article at Ocean City Sentinel 

NEW JERSEY: Snooki, Tucker Carlson and the battle for offshore wind in New Jersey

May 18, 2023 — On a recent drive to the Statehouse here, New Jersey’s top utility regulator turned on 101.5 FM, a conservative talk radio station, and got an earful about the offshore wind farms the state has staked its energy future on.

The morning show host was going off about a surge in whale deaths and an unfounded link between the dead whales and wind energy.

“All I do on the way down is yell at the radio,” said Joseph Fiordaliso, the president of the state Board of Public Utilities.

It isn’t just radio conspiracy theories, though. Mainstream Republicans and leading conservatives like former Fox News host Tucker Carlson — not to mention reality star Snooki — have been attacking Gov. Phil Murphy’s offshore wind plans as whales wash ashore. It’s a problem not just for the Democratic governor, who’s pinning his climate change agenda on coastal wind farms, but also for President Joe Biden.

Murphy is hoping New Jersey will be the nation’s leading producer of wind energy by 2040, so a stumble here could blow a hole in the side of the Biden administration’s clean energy goals.

Read the full article at Politico

NEW JERSEY: NJ holds off vote on emergency striped bass ruling, regulations remain the same for now

May 16, 2023 — Thursday came and went and New Jersey’s Marine Fisheries Council did not vote on the striped bass emergency ruling on the 28 to 31 inch striped bass.

Instead, the council made a motion to have its Striped Bass Advisory Committee meet in June and review the data and the mandate passed down by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission that requires all member states to approve the measure or be found out of compliance which could result in a moratorium being places on the fisher, here. States have until July 2 to come into compliance.

For now, fishermen in New Jersey waters can continue to keep one striped bass between 28 and 38 inches.

There were some strong words spoken by the public at the council meeting as New Jersey grapples with the decision. Some such as Eddie Yates, a charter boat captain and United Boatman member, said the ruling will only lead to more discards as fishermen will throw back more fish as they try to land a keeper.

Read the full article at My Central Jersey

Poll finds whale strandings drive down New Jersey support for offshore wind

May 15, 2023 — Concern over recent deaths of whales and dolphins along the New Jersey coast is reducing public support for offshore wind power development, with 35 percent of residents supporting the projects and 39 percent saying the projects should be halted, according to a Farleigh Dickinson University poll.

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration is deeply committed to offshore wind for building the state’s future energy sources. But state officials are under heavy political pressure from offshore wind critics and Republican legislators who call for a moratorium on the projects.

“If we’re going to meet the Murphy administration’s green energy goals, New Jersey needs to build a lot of wind farms, and fast,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of government and politics at Farleigh Dickinson University in Madison, N.J., and director of the FDU Poll. “But the administration just hasn’t convinced the public that it’s a good idea.”

Since a series of whale and dolphin strandings started in December 2022, wind power critics argued there could be a link between the deaths and offshore survey work on energy lease areas. The Murphy administration and federal officials insist there is no proof of a link and rejected calls for a moratorium, but “such arguments seem to be effective,” according to an FDU Poll summary released May 11.

“In the survey, respondents were randomly assigned to be asked about the offshore wind farms in a question that included a mention of the whale and dolphin deaths, or a version without it,” the report states. “Even though the question noted that there was no known link between the deaths and the wind farms, it significantly reduced support for the development of offshore wind.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman