Editor’s Log: Mitigate This! by Jim Hutchinson, Jr.
Last month I received notification from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) of a fisheries compensation fund deadline for financial losses stemming from construction of the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind farm about 13 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, MA. MAFMC clearly recognizes that the construction of a large-scale offshore wind site like Vineyard Wind 1 will result in “financial losses” in the fishing community, yet the only members of the fishing industry eligible to receive compensation apparently are “commercial fishing vessel owners/operators.” Sounds like anglers should keep any eye out while watching late-night television for the best personal injury lawyer able to secure the future compensation we deserve! “The Program was created to provide compensation to commercial fishing vessels/operators for economic losses attributable to construction, operation, and decommissioning activities of Vineyard Wind 1,” the MAFMC notice stated. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:30
Every deckhand of a Coastal Commercial fishing vessel should be getting in line for the up coming class action lawsuit. Commercial fishers are soleproprietors. It is not just the captain and boat owner who are being displaced by industrial offshore wind development. Just because it is difficult to determine who should qualify does not mean the professional fishers who work on deck should not be compensated for decades of displacement from historic traditional American farm waters.
I really appreciate your position on this, Brick, and was glad to read Jims’s column and post here. When the negotiations for compensation began, I assumed the crew would also be compensated. The train of thought was owners would, out of the goodness of their hearts, would compensate their crews. I know some good fishermen that would. It’s not as it should be.