Saving Seafood

MARYLAND: Turbine hearing set for Ocean City Convention Center

January 6, 2020 — Roughly three weeks ago, Maryland Public Service Commission granted a request from Ocean City, Md. officials to hold a hearing, set Saturday, Jan. 18, on the impact of a proposal to install taller turbines than originally planned as part of two proposed offshore wind farms including  Skipjack LLC wind farm, a project of the Danish company Ørsted, due east of the Delaware coast.

The commission has scheduled the hearing in rooms 215, 216 and 217 of the Ocean City Convention Center, 4001 Coastal Highway, Ocean City, Md.

In a Dec. 13 order, commission Executive Secretary Andrew Johnston said the issue of viewshed was a significant focus during the approval process for U.S. Wind and Skipjack LLC, the two companies awarded Maryland’s offshore wind renewable energy certificates in 2017. While the commission will accept comment on the size of the turbines, it denied a request to reopen the case or reconsider the granting of offshore wind renewable energy certificates.

Discovery at the hearing will be limited to this topic, said Johnson.

Read the full story at the Cape Gazette

MARYLAND: Taller, more distant turbines put Ocean City offshore wind projects back under state review

November 20, 2019 — Two wind farms proposed off the coast of Ocean City, Md., are getting a second look from the state of Maryland.

The Skipjack Wind Farm, led by Danish company Ørsted, and the MarWin Wind Farm by Baltimore-based U.S. Wind, a subsidiary of the Italian renewable energy company Renexia, are being reviewed in response to concerns raised by Ocean City officials about the farms’ impact on tourism to the famous vacation spot.

Both projects submitted updates to the state this fall detailing plans to install taller, more powerful turbines in their respective leasing areas.

The Maryland Public Service Commission, which has final approval on whether the projects receive key ratepayer-funded subsidies, will review public comments on the updated plans and may choose to hold a public hearing. It represents the projects’ first review since the MPSC conditionally approved them in 2017.

Read the full story at Delmarva Now

MARYLAND: Wind turbines off Ocean City would be 200 feet taller than planned, prompting regulators to reopen debate

November 15, 2019 — Developers of two wind farms off Maryland’s Atlantic coast say they will build turbines more than 200 feet taller than those initially proposed, intensifying fears of spoiled views from Ocean City and prompting state regulators to reopen discussion about the projects two years after blessing them.

The Maryland Public Service Commission is seeking new input on the potential impact of the windmills, roughly 20 miles from shore but several hundred feet higher than Baltimore’s tallest buildings. Potential impacts could include harm to birds or commercial fishing, though the strongest opposition has focused on an expectation that wind farms visible from shore would send tourists fleeing to beaches with pristine views in other states.

The state regulatory panel, which in 2017 authorized millions of dollars in ratepayer subsidies for the wind farms, issued its call days after Gov. Larry Hogan’s administration urged the five members to consider “additional review” of the projects. The Maryland Energy Administration, which leads state efforts to reduce reliance on foreign fuel and improve the environment, said a closer look is needed given concerns from Ocean City that offshore wind plans “have drastically changed since they were first approved.”

Officials declined to speculate on what action the commission could take once it reviews public comments, which are due Friday. But a spokeswoman said the panel has the authority to rescind or amend its order granting the wind farms ratepayer subsidies — money that is key to financing projects that together will cost more than $2 billion.

Read the full story at The Baltimore Sun

MARYLAND: Expo to highlight aquaculture, new equipment, gear

January 18, 2019 — The annual commercial fishing and aquaculture expo, the only one in the Mid-Atlantic region, kicks off at the Ocean City convention center on 40th Street this weekend.

The Maryland Watermen’s Association will host its 45th annual East Coast Commercial Fishermen’s and Aquaculture Trade Expo with more than 4,000 people expected throughout the three-day event, Jan. 18-20.

“The show was created to expose all the latest and newest equipment and gear, and what’s going on as far as regulations and requirements on commercial fishing,” Event Coordinator Victoria Brown said.

Last year, around 4,000 people attended the show.

Read the full story at Ocean City Today

Sportfishing Association opposes oil, gas, seismic testing along Atlantic coast

August 9, 2018 — The White Marlin Open is a hallmark event in Ocean City.

Last year, the tournament brought in more than 350 boats and 3,000 contestants – the camarederie and excitement were palpable.

The excitement this year is similar to last, but something has changed. We’ve all heard about the plans to open the Atlantic to drilling.

For the first time, fishermen are facing the prospect of our fisheries being pummeled by explosive noise, and our waters tainted by oil. Could this be our last tournament before oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic changes fishing and the town of Ocean City forever?

The Atlantic Coast Sportfishing Association hopes not.

Read the full story at Delmarva Now

MARYLAND: Why the fishing industry is against offshore wind farms near Ocean City

July 23, 2018 — Concern from the fishing industry is the latest development in the escalating debate over offshore wind farms near Ocean City.

Representatives say wind farms could cause harm by driving marine wildlife away, disturbing the ocean environment and making navigation more difficult for fishers and mariners.

“Now with the current offshore wind leasing process, we have these fishing grounds being sold right out from under us,” said Meghan Lapp during a recent presentation to the Ocean City Town Council. Lapp is a fishing liaison for Seafreeze Ltd., a Rhode Island commercial fishing company.

But marine biologists and wind farm officials say the impact won’t be that severe.

“I think they took an emotional approach to the problem. … So there was some degree of misinformation,” said Salvo Vitale, general counsel for U.S. Wind, one of the offshore wind energy companies involved in the Maryland project.

Conflicting information has muddied many discussions surrounding offshore wind energy. This back and forth pattern of counter arguments has persisted throughout the history of the project.

Read the full story at the Salisbury Daily Times

MARYLAND: Offshore Wind Projects’ Impact On Fishing Grounds Discussed

July 18, 2018 — After hearing a strong presentation on the potential impacts of offshore wind energy farms on fishing off the Ocean City coast and throughout the mid-Atlantic, resort officials this week seemed poised to strengthen their opposition to the proposed projects.

Since the Maryland Public Service Commission over a year ago approved the leases for two wind energy projects off the coast, Ocean City officials have been in a prolonged battle with the two approved developers to site the massive turbines offshore by at least 26 miles, or a distance perceived to have them not visible from the shoreline. From the beginning, the Mayor and Council’s official position has been an overall support of the concept of renewable, offshore wind energy, but not at the expense of sightlines from the resort’s coast and the potential impact on tourism and property values.

While much of the wind turbine issues, at least locally, have focused on the proposed distance and the perceived impact on tourism and property values, there has been little formal discussion of the possible impact on the resort’s vast fishing industry. Almost certainly, there will be some disruption of commercial and recreational fishing during the construction of the vast wind farms off the resort coast including some likely closures.

Read the full story at the Maryland Coast Dispatch

Ocean City’s effort to keep windmills far offshore fails as Maryland delegates reject proposal

March 13, 2018 — Maryland House of Delegates committee on Friday rejected a proposal that called for prohibiting wind farms from being built within 30 miles of Ocean City’s coast, a blow to the resort town’s effort to preserve beach vistas.

But town officials aren’t done fighting.

Ocean City officials have said that the sight of windmills on the horizon could dampen tourism spending and send visitors to the Jersey Shore or Virginia Beach. Two offshore wind developers are planning to build turbines off Maryland’s coast, after state regulators last year approved ratepayer subsidies for the projects that could cost typical utility customers $1 a month.

Mayor Rick Meehan said he had expected the proposed legislation to fail as lawmakers have fought for years over whether to allow wind farms off Maryland’s coast until the General Assembly in 2013 approved a process for constructing them that still has broad support. Meehan and other town officials are now turning their attention to efforts at the federal level, and potentially a second state-level review, to press regulators to keep wind turbines as far from beaches as possible.

“We support wind energy. We support clean energy,” Meehan said. “We just don’t want to see it at the detriment to Ocean City, our property owners and our economy.”

Read the full story at the Baltimore Sun

 

New England fishermen worry that wind turbines could impact their catch

December 26, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — East Coast fishermen are turning a wary eye toward an emerging upstart: the offshore wind industry.

In New Bedford, fishermen dread the possibility of navigating a forest of turbines as they make their way to the fishing grounds that have made it the nation’s most lucrative fishing port for 17 years running.

The state envisions hundreds of wind turbines spinning off the city’s shores in about a decade, enough to power more than 1 million homes.

‘‘You ever see a radar picture of a wind farm? It’s just one big blob, basically,’’ said Eric Hansen, 56, a New Bedford scallop boat owner whose family has been in the business for generations. ‘‘Transit through it will be next to impossible, especially in heavy wind and fog.’’

Off New York’s Long Island, an organization representing East Coast scallopers has sued the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to try to halt a proposal for a nearly 200-turbine wind farm. Commercial fishermen in Maryland’s Ocean City and North Carolina’s Outer Banks have also sounded the alarm about losing access to fishing grounds.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe

 

Congressional Coalition Opposes Canyon Designation; Letter Calls Out ‘Additional Financial Stresses’

December 16, 2016 — OCEAN CITY, MD — Days after the Ocean City Mayor and Council fired off a letter last week opposing the designation of the Baltimore Canyon as the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary, a coalition of U.S Congressmen sent a letter of their own to a federal official who could ultimately make the decision.

In October, National Aquarium officials announced they were seeking an Urban National Marine Sanctuary designation for the Baltimore Canyon, a vast 28-mile long and five-mile wide submarine canyon off the coast of Ocean City that lies at the center of the resort’s multi-million dollar fishing industry. According to the National Aquarium’s petition drive, a designation of the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary for the Baltimore Canyon “presents a unique opportunity to connect an urban population to the ecological treasure using cutting edge deep sea exploration technology.”

The announcement in October met with an immediate reaction from the resort’s area’s multi-million fishing industry, whose representatives fear a sanctuary designation would ultimately limit, restrict or prohibit recreational and commercial fishing in the canyon. During a meeting at the Ocean City Marlin Club late last month, aquarium officials assured fishing industry leaders the intent of the designation was not to impact fishing in the Baltimore Canyon, but could offer no assurances about potential changes in the uses allowed.

Last Monday, after hearing a presentation from attorney Mark Cropper, who represents several marina owners, fishing captains and other stakeholders about the potential “devastating” effects of a sanctuary designation for the Baltimore Canyon, the council fired off a letter to its representatives in Annapolis including Gov. Larry Hogan urging them to formally oppose the designation. Just two days later, the coalition of U.S. Congressman including Andy Harris, who represents Maryland’s 1st District, penned a letter of its own to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan expressing serious concern with the proposal and calling into question its legality. Along with Harris, signing the letter Congressmen Tom MacArthur, Walter B. Jones, Frank LoBiondo, Lee Zeldin, Chris Smith and Roy Wittman.

Read the full story at The Dispatch