We need fresh fish and ocean wind farms

The Block Island Wind Farm: the first and to date, the only ocean wind farm in the U.S.

We need fresh fish and ocean wind farms

We need renewable energy bad. The water is warming.  For years the ocean has acted as a heat absorber and last year it was the warmest ever. If we do not kick solar and ocean wind power into high gear, and the water continues to warm, even the warm water fish that have arrived in our area will leave.

We know the polar ice caps are melting from greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (created from the burning of fossil fuels) from above.  It is now melting from below too with warming ocean waters. So climate change impacts are accelerating.

Our cold water fish in the northeast have moved out to deeper and cooler water… no more winter flounder, no more American lobster, all the lobsters went to Maine.  And, we now have warm water fish in greater abundance such as scup, black sea bass and summer flounder (even though the stock is not in great shape). Speaking with fishermen from Maryland, they have an abundance of warm water species that are normally found further south in Florida.

So this is why we need to make ocean wind farms work. 

Our experience with the Block Island Wind Farm has been excellent. Not only has there been no remarkable adverse effects on fish and habitat, the fishing in the area is arguably better.  Recreational fishermen catch summer flounder, black sea bass and cod in the general wind farm area. Many say (including this fisherman) that fishing in the area has actually been better. 

Commercial rod & reel fishermen fish the wind farm area.  Commercial trawlers work the waters right alongside the windfarm. And, commercial gill netters set their nets right up to the pylons.  They do this because the fishing is good there, not because it is bad.

Looking at the bases of the turbines with underwater photography there is mussel growth on pylons, small fish eating around the mussels, scup and balck sea bass feeding close to the pylons with large bluefish and striped bass circling to pick off the smaller fish.

The cumulative impact of fish and habitat with 80 turbines, next to 100, next to 120 is what all are concerned about.  That’s why we need federal laws passed that put pressure on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to accelerate research before, during and after construction.  We need to see what positive or negative impacts (if any) the first 80 turbines will have on fish and habitat and apply the learnings to the construction of the next 80 turbines.

And by the way, the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) needs to play more of a role here, right now they are merely consulted.  If fish or habitat are at risk NOAA Fisheries needs the ability to put the brakes on as fish and habitat are their business, not BOEM’s business.

All fishermen and all Americans need to be vigilant about protecting fish and habitat.  But wind farm developers and fishermen posturing for mitigation is not a venue that leads to positive results of enhancing renewable energy while allowing fisheries to grow. 

The recent mitigation process used in Rhode Island on one lease area project built by Vineyard Wind (for a wind farm in Massachusetts) has set the table for some silliness.  The process was not inclusive of all fishery sectors in all states.  It did not include concerns of recreational fishers and those of Massachusetts fishermen.  If there are two to three projects in each of 20 lease areas, that’s 50 or 60 projects in the mid-Atlantic area to Massachusetts. 

We need to develop a process for addresses the needs of fishermen and the wind farm industry that is outside of mitigation, well before it. More of an inclusive planning approach that respects the needs and concerns of all at the table.

You also hear some totally false information spread by some designed to instill fear in fishermen and the public and position themselves for mitigation. Claims such as you will not be able to fish near the turbines, birds will be destroyed by the wind farm blades, the sound of the turbines will drive mammals away, the submarine cables emit electromagnetic fields that will kill fish, the turbines spinning will blow on the water and disrupt spawning grounds. I have not been able to find research that supports these claims.

So I say we have to work this out.  We need renewable energy. And, we need fresh, nutritious fish. NOAA needs a larger seat at the decision making table.  Wind farm developers and fishermen have to learn to live and work together. 

If we do not reduce the impacts of climate change, eventually even the warm water fish that have arrived in our waters will leave for cooler waters.

I am convinced we can develop renewable energy and yet have no remarkable negative impacts on fish and habitat.  We need to work to achieve this positive outcome today.