Tag Archives: Central Atlantic 2 Call Area
Could offshore wind plan hurt scallop fishermen? New Bedford official has ‘grave concerns’
New Bedford Port Authority Executive Director Gordon Carr has “grave concern” for the scallop fishing industry in the face of a potential new call area to be leased out to offshore wind projects. The 13,476,805-acre area off of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, dubbed the “Central Atlantic 2” call area, encompasses a large portion of key scalloping grounds, Carr wrote. Scalloper Keith Uzzell, who’s fished out of New Bedford and Fairhaven for 16 years, says he and others that frequent fishing grounds around the northeast started noticing “more survey boats, more offshore wind vessel activity” around the same time they noticed an uptick in things like dead whale sightings and empty scallop shells. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:46
New Bedford Port Authority Expresses “Grave Concerns” Over BOEM’s Proposed Central Atlantic Offshore Wind Development Area
The New Bedford Port Authority (NBPA) has submitted a formal response to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regarding the recently proposed Central Atlantic 2 Call Area (Docket No. BOEM-2024-0040), raising significant concerns about its potential impact on the commercial fishing industry. As the nation’s most profitable fishing port and home to the first large-scale offshore wind marshaling port, New Bedford is deeply invested in both renewable energy development and the preservation of vital fishing grounds. “BOEM has painted with too broad a brush. As the port where the fishing and offshore wind industry intersect more than anywhere else, New Bedford is committed to the successful coexistence of both industries. We believe that the new Mid-Atlantic call areas must be cut back from existing scallop and other fishery access areas, which still would leave ample room for nearby states to achieve their offshore wind capacity goals,” said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:39
BOEM seeks public input on possible wind energy areas
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management officials are asking for feedback on possible commercial wind energy development in areas totaling 13.47 million acres off the coasts of North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, or Central Atlantic 2. The Central Atlantic 2 Call Area “is broad to allow for flexibility to minimize conflicts with other uses, such as commercial fisheries, military activities, and vessel traffic,” according to the federal agency. This announcement builds on the input and planning that led to the first Central Atlantic lease sale on Aug. 14, the fifth offshore wind lease sale held during the Biden-Harris administration, according to BOEM. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:07
