Saving Seafood

Wind turbines still on track east of Virginia Beach

April 25, 2022 — Wind turbines are among the technologies driving the development of renewable energy at the large scale, with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel power plants and slowing down planetary warming. Onshore turbines are already common from Texas to Iowa, as winds are reliable on the Plains throughout most of the year.

That’s generally not the case in Virginia and the Middle Atlantic states, especially during the doldrums of July and August. But several miles offshore, it’s a different story, which makes wind turbines more practical.

Offshore wind has already scaled up quickly in western Europe, and appears to be on the verge of rapid growth on this side of the Atlantic. But for the moment, there’s not much.

Read the full story at The Roanoke Times

 

Do Offshore Wind Turbines Impact Fishing?

April 20, 2022 — Offshore wind seems poised to set sail on U.S. coasts. According to the Department of Energy, the burgeoning electricity source has the potential to generate more than 2,000 gigawatts (GW) of capacity per year—nearly double the nation’s current electricity use. Last fall, the Interior Department announced the commencement of construction on the nation’s first commercial scale wind farm, 15 miles off Martha’s Vineyard, and approved a deal for the second off Rhode Island. The Biden administration aspires to launch 16 such sites by 2025 and generate 30 GW of energy by 2030. But what impact will all the construction have on wildlife and fishing? A 10-year, $11 million U.S. Wind and University of Maryland study aims to find out.

Wind is the fastest growing energy source in the U.S., providing 42 percent of the country’s new energy in 2020. So far, most of that has come from land-based wind turbines. But, faster and steadier offshore wind speeds offer more potential. And as the cost of efficiently harnessing offshore wind has plummeted, that potential has soared.

But not everyone is pleased. A lone standoff last fall between a fishing boat and one of U.S. Winds’ giant research vessels symbolized the grievances of a key constituency: the ocean fishing community. Fishermen expressed concerns about damage to their equipment, disruption of the fishing grounds, and even the loss of their way of life. Annie Hawkins, the executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a trade association representing commercial fishermen, told the Guardian, “The fishing industry feels very strongly that they still do not have a meaningful voice in the process nor an authentic seat at the table.”

Read the full story at Field & Stream

‘There’s no fish that you can’t make delicious’

April 6, 2022 — Walking into Fearless Fish, a small market in Providence specializing in local seafood, is like walking into Tiffany’s. The showcases dazzle the eye.

There’s familiar fare, like Atlantic salmon, haddock, and sea scallops. There’s also a riveting range of fish that are relatively mysterious, curios like scup, butterfish, pollack, Acadian redfish, conger eel, and monkfish. While abundant in our waters, these so-called “underutilized” species — less known to New Englanders, less tasted, less in demand — are often exported to countries that apparently appreciate them much more than we do.

Most of the region’s Atlantic dogfish, for instance, goes to England for fish and chips. “It’s crazy,” said Chris Cronin, the chef at Union Flats Seafood in New Bedford, who prefers “unique” fish to the familiar. “Dogfish is pretty mild, slightly sweet with a flakey texture comparable to haddock. It takes on other flavors, and I like to serve it with citrus notes.”

Since Fearless Fish opened in early 2019, owner Stuart Meltzer’s main aim has been to try and broaden the consumer palate. “We want to help people become more confident, to try new fish,” he said one noontime, as mostly younger customers streamed through the door. The pandemic-driven interest in local foods has been good for sales, he noted, inspiring more daring in home kitchens. Skate piccata? Roasted mackerel with chimichurri? The store’s online recipes and cooking lessons help to demystify lesser-known fish, as does its disclosure of catch site and means. “Fluke, Pt. Judith, dragger.” “Monkfish, Gulf of Maine, dragger.”

“It’s important to me, and shared by customers, that the product is local,” said Meltzer.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

U.S. Wind Energy Is (Finally) Venturing Offshore

April 4, 2022 — Capturing offshore wind in the U.S. has long been an uphill battle, with various stumbling blocks in the terrain. Objections from fisheries, skepticism from conservationists and tenuous support from tourism have all stalled development in the past decade. That is, until May of 2021, when the U.S. Department of the Interior approved construction of a sprawling wind facility several miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

The project marks the first large-scale offshore wind undertaking in the U.S., and includes 62 turbines that will power more than 400,000 homes and businesses. But it almost didn’t happen. Under the Trump administration, the project’s approval halted, while broader national momentum behind alternative energy solutions slowed. The country’s only other offshore wind facility, with just five turbines spinning off the coast of Rhode Island since 2016, looked like it would not have any company for years. That site, Block Island Wind Farm, produces 30 megawatts, or enough energy to power up to 17,000 homes. After President Joe Biden took office, however, he promised a 1,000-fold increase in offshore wind energy production in the U.S. by 2030. Approving the ambitious Vineyard Wind project marks the first big step.

U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) researchers still puzzle over how turbines in oceans affect birds and fish. They recently started trying to assess the impact through the Realtime Opportunity for Development Environmental Observations  project, which conducted research when the foundation work began on Block Island in 2015. The researchers will report on other offshore wind projects as operations begin in the next several years. So far, they’ve found that during the noisy pile-driving phase of construction, the abundance of winter flounder decreased. However, other kinds of flatfish were not significantly impacted. The researchers also noted that almost immediately, mussels, sea stars and anemones began covering the submerged turbines. Future studies will add data on marine life impact and likely inform industry approaches.

Read the full story at Discover Magazine

Rhode Island plans to buy more offshore wind power to help meet goal of 100% renewable energy

March 21, 2022 — Gov. Dan McKee is moving ahead with a plan to ramp up Rhode Island’s supply of power from offshore wind farms that would be developed off the coast of Southern New England.

Legislation introduced in the General Assembly at the request of the McKee administration would require that a request for proposals be issued this summer for another 600 megawatts of offshore wind energy.

The plan comes despite uncertainty over the sale of National Grid’s electric and natural gas operations in Rhode Island. The transaction with Pennsylvania-based PPL Corp. is on hold pending court appeals from the attorneys general in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Any new contracts for offshore wind would have to be signed by whichever company owns the utility business.

Bill aims to address fisheries impacts and other issues

The legislation also aims to address other areas of controversy and head off conflicts over individual offshore wind proposals before they may arise.

Recent projects planned for the ocean waters off Rhode Island and Massachusetts have run into opposition from commercial fishermen who complain that siting what could eventually be hundreds of turbines in valuable fishing grounds will interfere with their livelihoods.

The bill would require developers to provide information on turbine layouts and locations during the procurement process. And they would have to submit a fisheries mitigation plan. That information has typically been released once contracts have been approved.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

New York breaks ground on 1st offshore wind farm, would be largest in U.S.

February 14, 2022 — The construction of a dozen wind turbines 35 miles off Long Island’s eastern tip has begun, officials said Friday, marking the state’s first offshore wind project launch.

The South Fork Wind Farm is planned to sit south of Rhode Island and send power to East Hampton. It could also put New York into rare air: Gov. Hochul has said the state will boast the largest offshore wind farm in the Western Hemisphere after the project’s completion.

The farm is projected to power up to 70,000 homes. New York is also whipping up several larger offshore wind plants that the government estimated will collectively power more than 2 million homes and create thousands of jobs.

“If you ask what the energy future looks like, I say: The answer my friends is blowing in the wind,” Gov. Hochul said in a rhetorical nod to Bob Dylan at the Friday groundbreaking ceremony. “This is just the beginning.”

Read the full story at the New York Daily News

Herring fishermen file appeal brief in at-sea monitoring case

February 2, 2022 — Atlantic herring fishermen who lost their case in 2021 against the federal government regarding an at-sea monitoring program filed their opening brief late last week to an appellate court seeking to overturn the decision.

That brief, which was filed to the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals late Friday, 28 January, claims Rhode Island U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Sullivan erred last year when she ruled the Magnuson-Stevens Act allowed the government to order the fishermen to cover the costs for monitors on their vessels.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

The Town Dock expands, redesigns calamari line

January 26, 2022 — Calamari supplier The Town Dock recently expanded and redesigned its retail product line.

The Narragansett, Rhode Island, U.S.A.-based company updated its packaging, including adding a recipe on the back of each box with a QR code taking consumers directly to a recipe video showing step-by-step cooking instructions.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Texas Public Policy Foundation Hosts Fishermen to Talk Wind Impacts

January 24, 2022 — The following was released by the Texas Public Policy Foundation: 

 

The growing wind industry is increasingly looking to offshore to capture ample wind resources, especially in the Northeast U.S. However, the impact of this development on commercial fishermen, endangered species, and grid reliability is being ignored. Hear from a group of Rhode Island fishermen who are suing the federal government to properly enforce its laws and how Texas could be impacted by the outcome.

Speakers:
Bonnie Brady – Exec. Director, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association
Meghan Lapp – Fisheries Liaison and General Manager, Seafreeze Shoreside
Rep. Jared Patterson – Texas State Representative
The Hon. Jason Isaac – Director of Life:Powered, Texas Public Policy Foundation

Construction to begin soon on new US offshore wind farm

January 20, 2022 — Construction will soon begin on the second commercial-scale, offshore wind energy project to gain approval in the United States, the developers said.

The U.S. Department of the Interior approved it in November, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued its approval letter for the constructions and operations plan Tuesday, a major step in the federal process before construction can start.

Orsted, a Danish energy company, is developing the South Fork Wind project with utility Eversource off the coasts of New York and Rhode Island. They now expect the work onshore to begin by early February and offshore next year for as many as 12 turbines.

President Joe Biden has set a goal to install 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030, generating enough electricity to power more than 10 million homes. In November, work began on the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the United States, the Vineyard Wind 1 project off the coast of Massachusetts.

Read the full story from the AP at ABC News