Saving Seafood

Offshore Wind Power Will ‘Absolutely Cost Jobs’ Of US Fishermen

May 8, 2017 — The fishing industry is worried the first offshore wind farm to come online in the U.S. will ruin their way of life and kill jobs.

An offshore wind turbine three miles off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island, will kill large numbers of fish and potentially drive hundreds of small coastal enterprises out of business, according to a fishing industry representative. Fishermen fear offshore wind turbines will continue to pop up along Atlantic Coast, eventually make it impossible to be a commercial fisherman.

“This will absolutely cost jobs in the U.S.,” Bonnie Brady, director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “If New York Governor [Andrew] Cuomo’s administration gets what it wants from offshore wind that’s thousands of fishing jobs. It’ll rip the coastal communities apart.”

Deepwater Wind (DW) powered up a nearby island from the Block Island turbines Tuesday. DW says it created 300 local jobs during the wind turbine construction process at Block Island.

Read the full story at The Daily Caller

ROB MOIR: Expanding the fisherman’s voice

June 17, 2016 — Gloucester’s fishing industry knows all too well about the complexity of our oceans. Through my years of working with groups like the commercial striped bass fishermen and the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, I have seen our fishermen adapt to the highs and lows that come with fishing these seas. That complexity has multiplied as new demands are placed on our ocean and coastal areas. From wind power to aquaculture, there are more and more people making a living off our waters.

And while we all agree that New England should make the most of these opportunities, we can’t do it at the expense of our fishermen’s livelihood, the health of our ocean wildlife or the places where our families go to play. It is now more critical than ever for us to effectively protect our oceans.

That is why I’m proud to see the years of compromise come to fruition with the release of our nation’s first draft regional ocean plan. Following the establishment of the National Ocean Policy in 2010, a planning body made up of New England states, local tribes and federal agencies came together to coordinate the efforts of all agencies that work on ocean-related issues. The result: a draft plan that streamlines ocean management at all levels of government.

I applaud the Northeast Regional Planning Body for a great first draft. I’m happy to see that the first goal focuses on maintaining healthy ocean ecosystems. This connects so well to my many years of working with fishermen and other ocean users to adopt a more ecosystem-based approach to ocean management.

For those in the fishing industry, this plan provides many benefits. But what tops the list in my mind is the ability to have all of this robust data and information in one place. With 150 species of marine life, the data portal is full of science and research that has been thoroughly validated. Anyone reading the plan can add comments or observations, and make note of any perceived gaps in the information. It allows us, for the first time ever, to break down siloes of information that have existed across the numerous state and federal agencies that manage our oceans.

Read the full editorial at the Gloucester Daily Times