New England lobstermen and fisheries experts are taking aim at the Biden administration’s recent moves to expand offshore wind energy projects, with green energy plans set aside from a possible change of administration in November. He claims to be in a “hurry” for “political proof”.
The New England Fisheries Management Association (NEFSA), a fisheries advocacy group representing wild harvesters in fisheries across New England, on Wednesday told the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) that the agency’s recently announced plans to lease 2 million vessels submitted public comments in opposition. Acres of ocean for offshore wind development. This is an unprecedented lease area earmarked for the construction of enough wind turbines to produce 32 gigawatts (GW) of energy.
NEFSA, along with the Responsible Ocean Development Alliance (RODA), argue that the administration’s plan is harmful to commercial fishing and marine life in the Gulf of Maine.
They also say the plan is hasty and structured in a way that protects it from future administrations that may not want to invest in such wind energy.
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New England lobstermen and fisheries experts are taking aim at the Biden administration’s recent moves to expand offshore wind energy projects. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bucati, File)
“This actually looks like a way to move this process forward and insulate the administration from some potential political change to achieve its goals, but nothing meaningful.”,” RODA’s Annie Hawkins said Monday.
BOEM, an agency within the Department of the Interior, announced final wind energy area (WEA) lease decisions last month. BOEM boasted that the Gulf of Maine WEA exceeds current state goals for offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine (10 GW in Massachusetts and 3 GW in Maine).
During public comments on BOEM’s Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental assessment for the Gulf of Maine WEA, NEFSA told the agency that the WEA “in its current form could have a significant adverse impact on the safety and well-being of the public.” ” was requested to be taken into consideration. Men and women engaged in commercial fishing. ”
“These harmful effects are a direct result of the incomplete and incomplete data that BOEM relied on, and the deficiencies in BOEM’s data are a direct result of the agency’s failure to consult with commercial fishing representatives before reaching its conclusions.” ” states the comment.
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On August 15, 2016, three wind turbines stand off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island, the nation’s first offshore wind farm. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
The organization said much of the WEA is frequented by endangered North Atlantic right whales, with 16 right whales seen in the area in just one day during the 2024 winter. “Given the dangerously low numbers of existing right whales, this area should have been excluded from the final wind energy area,” the group said.
NEFSA also argued that BOEM’s failure to consider the effects of wind energy generation on fish species and surface temperatures has dangerous environmental and economic impacts on the New England region.
“Wind farms cause increases in sea surface temperatures and emit electromagnetic fields (EMFs). There is a significant lack of research documenting the effects of water and electromagnetic fields heated by wind turbines on fish stocks, particularly bluefin tuna.” argued NEFSA.
The group said several studies have shown that EMFs generated by offshore cables “can have measurable effects on the early development of two commercially important crustacean species.” claims.
“The negative effects of EMF that the seven BOEMs failed to address could disrupt and deplete fish populations in the New England region,” NEFSA said in a comment.
According to NEFSA, BOEM also does not take into account the “negative effects of wind power generation on sea surface temperatures and climate change.”
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Maine lobstermen bring their catch from the state’s coast. (Maine Lobsterman Association/Marketing Associate)
“Wind farms cause increases in sea surface temperatures and disrupt upper ocean fluid dynamics in ways that are not yet fully understood by scientists,” NEFSA said.
Since mixing in the ocean’s surface layer is primarily driven by shear, as a 2022 study in Frontiers of Marine Science points out, “wind field anomalies can seriously impact upper ocean dynamics. There is.”
NEFSA has repeatedly stated that BOEM’s sister agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which provided data to BOEM for the WEA assessment, has no baseline data on habitat, in fact, no data at all. He also claims to have acknowledged it. In the Gulf of Maine. ”
“And what little data they have is provided by observers with little or no maritime experience on commercial vessels.”
“Very little sampling data is collected and the high turnover rate of NOAA staff is an example of inadequate scrutiny of observers,” NEFSA said in a comment.
“Taken together, the inescapable conclusion is that to the extent that BOEM relies on the misinformation it receives from NOAA, BOEM does not have the information it needs to accurately assess the impact on men, women, and women. “Marine life in wind energy areas is not affected,” the group claims.
Wind turbines generate electricity at the Block Island Wind Farm near Block Island, Rhode Island, on July 7, 2022. (John Moore/Getty Images)
BOEM said the Gulf of Maine WEA was finalized in support of the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of installing 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2030.
BOEM told Fox News Digital that it “plans to implement a phased leasing approach, and BOEM does not intend to lease the entire final WEA; rather, BOEM will continue to lease the final WEA based on certain criteria.” “We will consider the lease areas proposed from within.”
They said the WEA was put together “after extensive engagement with local lobster fishermen” and “avoided several other important fishing grounds and habitats, including important rockfish areas.”
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However, while Annie Hawkins’ group aims to work with regulators to help introduce policies that minimize conflicts with existing traditional and historic fisheries, BOEM has It says there is no “transparent process” or concrete process to reduce large-scale WEA. Standards related to fishing.
“It’s clear that they’re in a hurry to get a paper lease before this administration ends. It’s clear that by making this designation, they’re trying to turn it into a kind of political vindication. That way, in the future, if the government changes… [not] It favors wind leases…it makes it a lot easier to keep moving forward,” Hawkins said.
“We’re going to see the effects, but they’re not going to be easily reversed,” Maine lobsterman and NEFSA member Jason Joyce said Monday.
“I’m concerned that the effects will be quite permanent… it’s just that the whole thing will be very destructive,” he said.
NOAA and BOEM did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
