Saving Seafood

NEFMC Reviews Great South Channel HMA Research Proposal; Receives Wind Updates

January 30, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council discussed several offshore wind and habitat-related issues during its late January meeting in Portsmouth, NH, including a proposed exempted fishing permit (EFP) for the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area (HMA) that would allow surfclam and mussel dredging within a defined portion of Rose & Crown – one of the HMA’s research-only areas.

The HMA was created through the Council’s Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2, which was implemented April 9, 2018. Surfclam dredge vessels were granted a one-year exemption to continue fishing in the area. The exemption expired April 9, 2019.

The Council developed a Clam Dredge Framework as a trailing action to the amendment to consider allowing the use of clam dredge gear and, subsequently, mussel dredge gear within the HMA if the gear could be used without harming sensitive habitat.

Read the full release here

Gov. Murphy just unveiled N.J.’s master plan for energy and made a big pledge to fight climate change

January 28, 2020 — New Jersey will become the first state in the nation to require builders to consider the impact of climate change if they want their projects approved, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday as he unveiled the final version of the state’s new energy master plan.

The Democratic governor outlined the plan in a speech at Stockton University in Galloway, calling the 290-page document “ground zero” for “weaning the state off its century-old addiction to fossil fuels.”

The document lays out the Murphy administration’s vision for how to ensure the state reaches its lofty green energy goals: 50% clean energy by 2030, and 100% clean energy by 2050.

The plan is intended to slash the Garden State’s greenhouse gas emissions, reducing New Jersey’s contribution to climate change.

Murphy warned Monday that climate change is direct threat to New Jersey. He citied a recent Rutgers University report that said sea levels along New Jersey’s coast are expected to rise more than one foot by 2030 and two feet by 2050.

Read the full story at NJ.com

Offshore Wind to Fund New Study of Right Whales

January 28, 2020 — Ørsted is funding a project to study and protect endangered North Atlantic right whale during surveys, construction, and operation of its U.S. offshore wind facilities such as Bay State Wind and Revolution Wind.

Using data collected from an aerial, unmanned glider and two sound-detection buoys, researchers from the University of Rhode Island, Rutgers University, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will examine the habitat and behaviors of right whales in the wind-lease areas awarded to Ørsted.

An estimated 400 North Atlantic right whales remain, fewer than 100 are breeding females.

The oceanographic data will help studies of additional fish species and improve forecasting for severe storms and other weather, according to Ørsted. The three-year initiative is called Ecosystem and Passive Acoustic Monitoring (ECO-PAM).

Read the full story at EcoRI

Ørsted to Brief Atlantic City Residents on New Jersey’s First OWF

January 27, 2020 — Danish offshore wind farm company Ørsted is set to host an open house in the first week of February to update Atlantic City residents on the progress of Ocean Wind, New Jersey’s first offshore wind project.

Ørsted was in June 2019 selected as preferred bidder for New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm, to be located 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City. Construction is expected to start in the early 2020s, with the wind farm operational in 2024.

Ørsted, formerly known as Dong Energy, will host the open house for Atlantic City residents on Thursday, February 6 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Avalon Conference Center at The Claridge Hotel, located at 123 S. Indiana Avenue, Atlantic City. Free, validated parking will be available in The Claridge’s parking garage, the company said. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m.

Read the full story at Offshore Engineer

VA: Clock ticking for Hampton Roads and offshore wind industry, state official says

January 24, 2020 — Hampton Roads has a chance to create thousands of jobs and attract a potential multibillion-dollar industry to the region. The only question now is whether regional stakeholders are up to the task.

That’s the message Virginia wind energy leader Jennifer Palestrant told a room full of Hampton Roads mayors, city council members and others during a Hampton Roads Planning District Commission meeting Jan. 16.

“We’re going to get one shot at this,” said Palestrant, chief deputy for Virginia’s Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy. “One. This opportunity will not come again.”

Palestrant said she believes momentum is building toward making Hampton Roads one of the largest, most important locations for wind turbine construction on the East Coast. With it could come a large chunk of an estimated $70 billion industry and 14,000 Virginia jobs, according to the commission.

“This is a game changer,” Palestrant said.

Read the full story at Inside Business

Acoustic survey to study right whales, fish around offshore wind projects

January 23, 2020 — Acoustic sensors on buoys and an undersea drone will be used to map out the movements of endangered northern right whales, marine mammals and fish around offshore wind energy sites, in a joint project with wind developer Ørsted and marine science institutions.

Ørsted on Wednesday announced the “Ecosystem and Passive Acoustic Monitoring” project is launching in cooperation with Rutgers University, the University of Rhode Island and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in addition to the company’s 2019 agreement to support Rutgers research related to wind energy development.

Rutgers will supply a Slocum electric glider, an undersea probe that can operate autonomously for weeks at a time, periodically surfacing to transmit its data back via satellite link. Now widely used in oceanography, the glider technology will be a first for Ørsted, one of the pioneer companies in European offshore wind.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Inside New York’s Push to Be ‘Center of Gravity’ for US Offshore Wind

January 22, 2020 — In the race for American offshore wind jobs, New York got an uncharacteristically late start.

Unlike Rhode Island, New York has no turbines spinning in the water. It does not have a ready-and-waiting offshore wind port facility, like Massachusetts, nor large amounts of free harborside space as in Virginia or Maryland. To the extent the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind industry has a capital today, most would nod toward Boston.

But the Empire State has plenty of advantages, and it’s making up for lost time.

Over the past year, New York solidified its position as not only the most important U.S. offshore wind market but also ranking among the most important in the world. Having nearly quadrupled its offshore wind target, New York now claims the largest in the nation — 9 gigawatts by 2035 — along with several of the biggest projects currently underway.

Sites like the once-forgotten South Brooklyn Marine Terminal and the proposed Arthur Kill Terminal on Staten Island may soon transform into major renewable energy hubs.

Read the full story at Green Tech Media

After Years Of Slow Action On Climate Change, What Sets Offshore Wind Apart For N.H.?

January 22, 2020 — Most New England states have been investing in alternative energy sources for years. But New Hampshire has been slower to act in response to climate change.

Now, the Granite State is looking to be a leader in a major new source of renewable energy: offshore wind.

Turnout exceeded all expectations at the first meeting, last month, of a federal task force on wind development in the Gulf of Maine. One state legislator was heard saying the line to get in rivaled the line for the women’s bathroom at Fenway Park.

Governor Chris Sununu welcomed hundreds of people who filled up a huge meeting hall and overflow rooms at UNH.

“Good morning,” he said, to a mild response, then: “Come on! Look what we’re kicking off, this is exciting!”

Read the full story at New Hampshire Public Radio

NEW JERSEY: Gov. Murphy signs bill expanding definition of qualified offshore wind project

January 22, 2020 — Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law on Tuesday a bill to expand the definition of a qualified offshore wind project, which amends an existing law that is commonly referred to as the “Offshore Wind Economic Development Act.”

The measure requires developers seeking New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approval as a qualified offshore wind project to include within its detailed description for the project any transmission facilities and interconnection facilities to be installed.

The bill allows the NJBPU to conduct one or more competitive solicitations for open access offshore wind transmission facilities designed to expedite the collection or delivery of offshore wind energy from qualified projects to the electric transmission system.

Read the full story at NJBiz

As windfarm action moves to US west coast, so too does attention of harvester group

January 21, 2020 — The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) — the group that’s been representing commercial fish harvesters in relation to the development of windfarms on the United States’ Atlantic Coast — now has a presence also on the US Pacific Coast.

RODA, which reports to already represent about 160 commercial harvesters and processors, on Jan. 1 launched a Pacific advisory committee made up of leaders from several west coast fisheries throughout California and Oregon.

“Its purpose is to improve science and policy approaches to development, while also increasing and improving communication to help strengthen ties between Pacific fishermen and fishing communities across the country,” the group says in a press release, continuing: “…As discussions of offshore wind development in the US continue to progress, Pacific fishermen have expressed significant concern over the lack of communication and collaboration necessary to inform coexistence among ocean users.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News