Saving Seafood

MARYLAND: Offshore wind project for OC not impacted by federal action

August 8, 2025 — A decision to rescind all Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) located in federal waters will not affect an offshore wind project near Ocean City’s coast.

That’s the message City Manager Terry McGean delivered last week after the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced it was taking that action in areas located on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

“These are the ‘new’ lease areas that were being vetted back in 2022-24,” he explained. “It was known as the Central Atlantic planning area.”

On July 30, the Trump administration announced it was closing federal waters to new wind energy development, effectively reversing course on the Biden administration’s plan to build up the industry.

Read the full article at the OC-Today-Dispatch

BOEM cancels all offshore Wind Energy Area designations

August 1, 2025 — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) dealt a massive blow against offshore wind on 30 July by abruptly rescinding all Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) it had designated on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), canceling years of planning dating back to 2014.

“By rescinding WEAs, BOEM is ending the federal practice of designating large areas of the OCS for speculative wind development and is de-designating over 3.5 million acres of unleased federal waters previously targeted for offshore wind development across the Gulf of America, Gulf of Maine, the New York Bight, California, Oregon, and the Central Atlantic,” BOEM said in a statement.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Fisheries Researchers Map Habitats Ahead of Offshore Wind Development

November 9, 2018 — HYANNIS, Mass. – NOAA Fisheries researchers are helping to inform federal managers and developers on the impacts that construction and operation of offshore wind facilities will have on ocean bottom habitats and fisheries.

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center conducted four years of research to build a database of information, including water temperatures, topography, sediments, currents and marine life in the eight Wind Energy Areas authorized by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management along the East Coast.

The designated WEAs encompass just over 4,000 square nautical miles of seafloor from Massachusetts to North Carolina. About 40 percent of the area has actually been leased to date, including the Vineyard Wind project development south of Martha’s Vineyard.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com