Saving Seafood

MAINE: MLA honors board, rallies for the future at annual meeting

March 18, 2025 — The Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) annual meeting took place at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum and was anything but routine this year.

As industry leaders gathered to discuss the latest challenges and victories in the state’s lobster industry, they also took a moment to recognize the end of an era—Kristan Porter, the longtime MLA board president and Cutler fisherman, announced his retirement from the role, along with board vice president Craig Stewart from Long Island, and Laurin Brooks who fishes out from Kennebunk. 

Lawsuits, Offshore Wind, Industry Resilience

Among the key updates shared, the MLA’s acting COO, Patrice McCarron, reaffirmed their stance against offshore wind development, highlighting progress in its legal battle with Monterey Bay Aquarium, and urged lobstermen to stay engaged in policy discussions, especially regarding the controversial gauge increase.

“You may have also heard the good news: the Monterey Bay Aquarium lawsuit will get the green light to go forward,” McCarron said. “We haven’t won the case, but we do now have the green light so that we would be expecting discovery and possibly going to trial in the near future.”

The lawsuit, a defamation case launched by the MLA and the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA), challenges the Aquarium’s controversial decision to red-list Maine lobster over concerns about North Atlantic right whale entanglements. The case moving forward signals a significant step in the industry’s ongoing fight for fair representation.

The MLA also addressed other regulatory battles, including a pushback on federal electronic tracking mandates. “We certainly know where people are; we no longer have to guess, but they should not be running 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” McCarron stated. “You guys should not be tracked when using your vessels for personal reasons.”

The Maine lobster fishery continues to grapple with bait shortages and federal policy shifts, but as the meeting made clear, the industry is far from standing still.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

NEW JERSEY: Feds pull environmental permit from New Jersey offshore wind project

March 17, 2025 — Federal officials pulled a permit from Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind on Friday in a move that could spell more delays and setbacks for New Jersey’s first offshore wind energy facility.

Environmental Appeals Court Judge Mary Kay Lynch ruled Friday to remand a Clean Air Act permit issued last September to Atlantic Shores back to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

EPA officials filed a motion in February to have the court remand the permit to the agency, in order to review the wind energy project’s environmental impacts. The action came in response to President Donald Trump’s January memorandum to withdraw all of the outer continental shelf from offshore wind leases for further review.

Read the full article at Asbury Park Press

Fishing groups raise Vineyard Wind case to Supreme Court

March 14, 2025 — In another move aimed at offshore wind, the fishing industry is attempting to take its fight against Vineyard Wind to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a national coalition of fishing industry associations and companies, and the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation filed separate petitions last week requesting the Supreme Court to review decisions by a lower court.

Both organizations unsuccessfully petitioned to shutdown Vineyard Wind — the first large-scale offshore wind project approved in the United States and located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard — in the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston last year.

The petitioners say the project was rushed through by the Biden Administration in an effort to establish an American offshore wind industry without considering the consequences.

Read the full article at MV Times

Fishing industry asks Supreme Court to hear case against Vineyard Wind

March 12, 2025 –A national fishing industry group and conservative think tank have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up their lawsuits challenging the approval of the Vineyard Wind project, which has been under construction since 2023.

The lobbying group, Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), sued the lead government regulator of offshore wind in early 2022, alleging the agency violated several acts, including those to protect existing ocean users and endangered species.

At the crux of RODA’s appeal to the Supreme Court is the language of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and particularly, how the federal government interpreted it.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), which represents fishermen and a fishing company in Rhode Island in another lawsuit, is similarly arguing the federal government did not correctly interpret statutes in its approval of the Vineyard Wind project.

RODA has long argued that offshore wind farms will interfere with fishermen’s ability to catch fish, reduce vessel safety at sea, and potentially harm the viability of commercial fisheries.

But RODA lost its case twice: first, in 2023 in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, where a judge sided with the project and regulators; and second, in 2024 in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, where the judge upheld the lower court’s decision.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation also had its case dismissed by the lower courts.

RODA says the Interior Department during the first Trump administration correctly interpreted statutory language, requiring that the Interior Secretary “shall ensure” approved activities, including offshore wind projects, are consistent with a requirement to prevent interference with “reasonable uses” on the outer continental shelf, including the use of a “seabed for a fishery.”

Read the full article at the The New Bedford Light

RODA asks Supreme Court to hear Vineyard Wind case

March 11, 2025 — Commercial fishing industry advocates appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their challenge of federal permits that authorized the ongoing Vineyard Wind 1 project off southern New England.

The first approved commercial-scale wind energy project in federal waters, the Vineyard Wind federal “approval sets the precedent for all future U.S. offshore wind development,” said the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a coalition of fishing groups and communities.

The case was brought March 10 on behalf of fishermen by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative legal advocacy group. It asks the high court to reverse a federal appeals court decision that upheld federal permits for the 804-megawatt Vineyard Wind project.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

RODA petitions US Supreme Court to review its case against Vineyard Wind

March 11, 2025 — The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) has appealed its case against the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project to the Supreme Court of the United States.

RODA, a lobbying group representing commercial fishermen, first filed a lawsuit against in 2022 in objection to federal approvals of the wind energy project. The 800-megawatt project, located in an area off the coast of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, is planned to take up as much as 75,000 acres.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MASSACHUSETTS: Lightning strikes damaged Vineyard Wind turbine

March 5, 2025 — A Vineyard Wind turbine located south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, already compromised by a blade failure last summer, was struck by lightning last Thursday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The incident raises further questions about the structural resilience of offshore wind infrastructure and its implications for maritime industries, including commercial fishing.

The turbine, identified as AW38, had already sustained significant damage when a blade snapped during routine testing on July 13, 2024. Vineyard Wind confirmed that the lightning strike further impacted the splinted nub of the broken blade.

“Based on visual inspection of the damaged blade, preliminary evidence indicates that a lightning strike may have impacted the blade, though we continue to assess in coordination with GE Vernova,” Vineyard Wind said in a statement Sunday night, as The New Bedford Light reported.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: Lightning strikes Vineyard Wind’s broken offshore wind blade

March 4, 2025 — In what appears to be a remarkable coincidence, lightning apparently struck the remains of the Vineyard Wind turbine blade that crumbled into the ocean last summer.

No one was injured and no debris have been found in the water, according to Vineyard Wind, the company constructing the 62-turbine project near Martha’s Vineyard. In a statement, the company said it “deployed both aerial and maritime resources” and saw no evidence that any other part of the turbine was damaged.

It’s unclear when the lightning hit, but the company said it found “preliminary evidence” indicating a possible strike while conducting a routine inspection of the turbine. The U.S. Coast Guard said it was notified by Vineyard Wind on Thursday.

Petty Officer Lyric Jackson said “there are no navigational hazards to report.” She added that the Coast Guard is “standing by” and is in communication with Vineyard Wind.

The incident comes at a fraught time for the offshore wind industry. President Trump ordered a stop to all leasing and permitting for offshore wind development on his first day in office, and a review of all existing leases.

Read the full article at wbur

MASSACHUSETTS: Broken Vineyard Wind Turbine Struck by Lightning

March 3, 2025 — The same Vineyard Wind turbine blade that snapped in half last summer now appears to have been struck by lightning, according to the company and the U.S. Coast Guard.

On Sunday, officials confirmed that the turbine at the southernmost end of the Vineyard Wind lease off Martha’s Vineyard was apparently hit by lightning late last week, damaging the already broken blade.

The Coast Guard reported a strike occurred on Feb. 27, and it was working with Vineyard Wind to ensure there were no navigational hazards in the area.

Vineyard Wind, in a statement Sunday afternoon, said a preliminary inspection indicated that the blade had been hit by lightning, and the company was continuing to assess the damage.

“This was contained to the damaged blade and based on current information there is no impact to the nacelle or turbine structure,” the company wrote. “Vineyard Wind deployed both aerial and maritime resources and based on current observations, there is no indication of debris from this event.”

The strike comes as Vineyard Wind was working to get back on track after the blade broke in July, scattering thousands of pieces of fiberglass into the ocean. The turbine, one of 62 planned for a 166,886-acre area of ocean about 14 miles south of the Island, had a defect that was not caught in the manufacturing process and had since been turned off.

The company is under orders from the federal government to remove 66 blades that were built at the same Canadian factory as the defective one.

Vineyard Wind on Sunday said it was already continuously monitoring the broken turbine due to the previous blade failure, and its manufacturer, GE Vernova, planned to remove the remaining portion of the blade and replace it in May.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the federal agency charged with overseeing offshore wind energy projects, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.

Standing more than 800-feet tall, the turbines have been a point of controversy in the region and nationally. Vineyard Wind was the first commercial-scale project to get all of its permitting when it was approved by the federal government in 2021, and last summer, before the break, it was the largest operating offshore wind farm in the country.

Read the full article at Vineyard Gazette

SouthCoast Wind’s value declines due to Trump’s opposition

February 28, 2025 — President Trump’s executive order on offshore wind continues to have impacts, with a parent company of SouthCoast Wind this week announcing to investors a more than $260 million reduction in the value of its North American portfolio, which includes three U.S. offshore wind projects. The action reflects the company’s assumption that the Trump administration may cause years of delays in offshore development.

In simple terms, the value of an offshore wind farm hinges on two factors: what the expected revenue will be, and when that revenue is expected to start coming in. Delays to when an offshore wind project comes online and starts generating electricity mean delayed revenue, which makes the asset worth less at present. That’s why the company announced the reduction in value, also known as an “impairment” or “write down.”

The parent company, EDP Renewables, told investors it assumed a four-year delay under the new administration as a worst-case scenario. However, this does not mean the project is adopting a four-year delay, as another news outlet erroneously reported. SouthCoast Wind plans to move forward to the degree it can, including finalizing an agreement (known as a power purchase agreement or PPA) at the end of March with Massachusetts to purchase the project’s power.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light