Saving Seafood

ROSA Announces Hiring of First Executive Director

February 27, 2020 — The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance:

Dr. Lyndie Hice-Dunton has been selected to lead the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance (ROSA) by ROSA’s board of directors.  Dr. Hice-Dunton officially assumed the role of Executive Director on February 10, 2020.

ROSA is an unprecedented partnership formed by fishermen and offshore wind leaders, in collaboration with federal and state management experts to enhance scientific understanding necessary to support the coexistence of wind energy development and sustainable fisheries. Formed in early 2019, ROSA will provide for and advance regional research and monitoring of fisheries and offshore wind interactions in US state and federal waters through coordination and cooperation.

“We are so enthusiastic for Lyndie’s leadership of ROSA and look forward to working collaboratively with the Fishing Industry, Offshore Wind Developers, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as we continue to build this exciting organization,” said Peter Hughes, Co-Chair of ROSA’s Board of Directors.  

“Dr. Hice-Dunton brings valuable organizing experience to her new role that will help ROSA bring together important stakeholders in a sustainable future for the ocean,” said Rachel Pachter, Co-Chair of ROSA’s Board of Directors. “We are thrilled to be moving forward and rolling up our sleeves on ROSA’s important mission of science, collaboration, and communication.”

Read the full release here

Fishermen demand a say in decisions on offshore wind energy

September 16, 2019 — Fishermen insisted Monday to a congressional subcommittee looking at offshore wind energy that they be consulted when crucial decisions are being made on the development of such projects, including where they are located and the level of access to the waters near them.

Fishermen should have been brought into the planning process from the start, Peter Hughes, of Atlantic Capes Fisheries, told U.S. House members from New Jersey and California who were holding a hearing at the Jersey Shore.

“Look at these slides,” he said, referring to diagrams of where proposed wind projects would be built. “They’re right smack dab where we are fishing. This is going to put people out of business.”

The purpose of the hearing was to gather input from the fishing industry and its advocates to be considered in future regulation of the nascent wind energy market. So far, a single five-turbine wind farm off Block Island, Rhode Island, is the only operating offshore wind farm in the U.S., but states up and down the East Coast are readying plans for similar projects.

Capt. Ed Yates, a fisherman from Barnegat Light, New Jersey, said flounder, cod and other species have moved away from underground cables at a wind project off Denmark.

“How does offshore wind energy affect the fishing industry?” he asked. “The answer we get from the wind operators is ‘We won’t fully understand the impacts until the facilities are already built.’”

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance formed last year to represent the interests of the fishing industry regarding offshore wind. The group’s executive director, Annie Hawkins, said more scientific studies are needed, adding there has been virtually no public discussion of important questions like how wind energy projects would be dismantled after reaching the end of their lifespans.

The hearing was chaired by Rep. Alan Lowenthal, a California Democrat, and Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat who represents the area of southern New Jersey including the productive Cape May fishing port.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Washington Post

RODA and Ørsted Partner to Address Fisheries and Offshore Wind Coexistence

January 17, 2019 — BOSTON — The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance and Ørsted:

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) today announced that it has entered into a partnership agreement with Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind to improve communications between the commercial fishing industry and offshore wind energy developers.

This first-of-its-kind partnership will create an unprecedented opportunity for commercial fishermen to provide direct input to the wind energy industry on matters of significant interest to their businesses. Under this partnership, both industries will remain autonomous but provide a platform to move towards workable solutions. While non-binding in nature, it is RODA and Ørsted’s hope that discussions will prove beneficial to all parties involved.

“Partnering with Ørsted is a significant step forward as we look to strengthen our ongoing dialogue between commercial fishermen and offshore wind developers,” said RODA Executive Director Annie Hawkins. “RODA believes that we need to develop solutions for offshore wind energy and commercial fishing to coexist, and today’s announcement will support future sustainability for both industries.”

“We are proud to be the first offshore wind developer to partner with RODA, which is an important part to the future of offshore wind,” said CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind and President of Ørsted North America Thomas Brostrøm. “The fishing community must be considered as offshore wind development continues in the U.S. Through this partnership, we will be able to share our concerns in a productive way and develop practical solutions as we all seek to coexist and thrive for a better tomorrow.”

RODA is the only national commercial fishing organization that is purpose-built for interacting with the offshore wind industry to maintain sustainable fisheries. Based from Midcoast Maine to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, it also has the broadest geographic and gear-type range of any East Coast fishing industry membership organization active in offshore wind engagement.

The RODA Board of Directors consists of fishing industry representatives who bring over 200 years of combined operational and management experience, split across the range of federally and state-managed Atlantic fisheries. One of RODA’s primary goals is to ensure that the fishing industry’s input at-large is received, considered, and accommodated to the maximum extent possible in leasing, design, construction, and operations of new offshore developments.

“It is extremely vital that our nation’s fishermen are heard when offshore wind projects are being developed,” said RODA Chairman and Director of Sustainability at Atlantic Capes Fisheries Peter Hughes. “Ørsted has made it clear that they want to be partners with the fishing industry, and we are optimistic that our work with them will set a standard ensuring that fishermen have direct input into wind farm designs and ensuring that their concerns are fully embraced by developers.”

A core component of the partnership will be the creation of a joint industry task force to explore improved approaches to project siting, design, and operations. The two industries have already engaged in extensive communication regarding topics ranging from navigation concerns (including transit lanes and turbine layouts) and other impacts avoidance to identifying a mutual interest in developing transparent strategies for long-term mitigation. This new initiative will provide a more structured process for further collaboration between the two industries.

Ørsted and RODA strongly encourage other offshore wind energy developers and commercial fishermen to join this partnership in order to develop well-informed and enduring approaches to best practices and provide broad representation of the industries.

For more information on joining RODA as a fishing industry member, or joining the joint advisory panel as a member of the offshore wind development community, please contact info@rodafisheries.org.

About Ørsted

Ørsted delivers clean, renewable energy along the US Eastern Seaboard. Through Ørsted US Offshore Wind, the company operates Block Island Wind Farm, America’s first offshore wind farm, and has a comprehensive geographic coverage with the largest pipeline of development capacity, totaling over 8GW in seven states. It is jointly headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island and employs over 100 people.

As the world’s leading developer of offshore wind farms, Ørsted has installed 5.6GW offshore wind capacity in Europe and has a further 3.4GW under construction. It is Ørsted’s ambition to have installed a total offshore wind capacity of 15GW worldwide by 2025. The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore wind farms, bioenergy plants and innovative waste-to-energy solutions and provides smart energy products to its customers. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 6,000 people. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Ørsted). In 2017, the group’s revenue was DKK 59.5 billion (EUR 8.0 billion). For more information on Ørsted, visit https://orsted.com/ or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

About RODA

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) is a broad membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and fishing companies with an interest in improving the compatibility of new offshore development with their businesses. It supports science- and evidence-based approaches to ocean resource management, including through the use of robust public-private partnerships and collaborative research. For industry communications, public relations, and media relations, RODA is partnering with Stove Boat Communications, a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs firm with expertise in oceans and fisheries issues. Together, RODA and Stove Boat will foster improved communication, ensure published materials are factual, and make information accessible to fishermen and the public

Media Contacts:

Ørsted North America

Lauren Burm, 617-309-8730

laubu@orsted.com

Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA)

Bob Vanasse, 202-333-2628

bob@stoveboat.com