Tag Archives: offshore wind farms
SURVEY: Please Help Extreme Gloucester Fishing: Restructure, Retool, Retrain, Revive and Reunite the U.S. Commercial Fisheries
Extreme Gloucester Fishing Commercial Industry Training Center is doing a U.S. Commercial Fisheries Survey – Please help Extreme Gloucester Fishing with our efforts to Restructure, Retool, Retrain, Revive and Reunite the U.S. Commercial Fisheries Take the Survey. 1. Do commercial fishermen care about their industry? 2. Should fish be owned before they are caught?, 3.,,, >click to read<, and please leave comments or suggestions, and connect with others to get things started! Thank you, Captain Joseph Sanfilippo 10:30
Bob Guzzo Talks Quotas, Offshore Wind, Coronavirus, and Fishing out of Stonington, Connecticut
“We’re giving up traditional fishing grounds that we’ve had for hundreds of years, that have fed the country, that are now going to light a light bulb and it’s not going to be worthwhile,” Guzzo said of the proposed wind farms located in federal waters. The location of the wind farms also destroys longtime fisheries, said Guzzo. “They’re taking away places that we’ve fished for this country over hundreds of years and we’re losing that ground,” he said.,, Quotas and Coronavirus, “I got tired of throwing fish overboard, I could never stand it. I started too long ago and never had to do this. The way they make you fish today is a crime,” >click to read< 08:01
Michael Shellenberger: Sorry, But I Cried Wolf on Climate Change – A Mea Culpa
If climate change is a problem, then wind turbines and solar panels aren’t a solution: heavily subsidised and unreliable wind and solar are an economic and environmental disaster. When climate alarmists managed to hijack energy (and with it economic) policy it was a case of lunatics (Offshore Wind 
Farmers, politicians)taking over the asylum. Last week, Michael Shellenberger hit the headlines with a heart-felt mea culpa, the foundation for which is laid out in his latest work, ‘Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All’. At 459 pages it’s a thoroughly researched piece of academic work that can’t be easily dismissed or ignored; as a grand and exhaustive effort to expose the fanciful and far-fetched claims being made about a planet on the brink it’s had a perfectly predictable result. >click to read< 16:38
Displacement of fishermen? Offshore Wind Could Have Major Adverse Impact on Commercial Fisheries
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) draft supplemental environmental review for Vineyard Wind off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts indicates that offshore wind farms could have a major “adverse” impact on commercial fisheries.,, The study also notes concern that offshore wind turbines and transmission cables could entangle with fishing vessels and gear, and that wind farms could result in the temporary or permanent displacement of fishermen in certain areas. >click to read< 13:02
N E looks to Europe to assess environmental impacts of offshore energy facilities – “In the next 20 years there will be more than 2,000 wind turbines off the coastline,” “We think there’s lots of potential for environmental benefit of putting offshore aquaculture together with offshore renewable — from an environmental point of view, but also from an economic point of view,” she said. “Sharing space is going to be the only way I think we can move forward in this industry,,, >click to read<
Letter: Can you imagine they’re soft talking Whales and Wind Turbines? We don’t want to create the UNDERNET!
They have no Data! There’s an impact study in great need! Where the Hell is Lube Job Jane? So they are like maybe the Whales won’t mind a little inconvenience?! Talk about vertical lines! How about a Wall?! A physical one, with a combination of Electrical Current and Audio. The New Undernet! If I were a lobsterman i’d be pissed. Real pissed! At least those guys are mobile, They can get the Hell out of the way. In fact, they’re already doing it…We’re just starting to get a handle on things out there.. Let’s not turn it into an industrial dump! The Whales deserve better. >click to read< 16:14
So! What’s the Big Rush to Offshore Wind?!! Part 1 and Part 2
The U.S. is currently in a mad rush to build offshore wind farms on every square inch of the ocean on the east coast, despite the fact that there is presently little known about the environmental effects of so many structures on the marine ecosystem. The surveying, construction, operation and maintenance of these huge, up to 900 foot tall structures, will create a cacophony of sound never before heard in these ocean waters.,, So, why must we ignore all semblances of concern to the possible effects of thousands of huge off shore wind turbines on the marine environment? By Commercial Fisherman Jim Lovgren. This is a two part series, >click to read< Part 1, >click to read< Part 2 23:04
UK Offshore Wind Farms Are Paid Millions Per Day Not To Run Turbines
Last week, millions of pounds in “constraint payments” were paid to wind energy farms to not run their turbines. Over £12 million was handed out to wind farms in the United Kingdom last week, following a major outage in a powerline that transported energy from Scottish wind farms to England. The handouts will be tacked onto consumers’ energy bills throughout the country.,, The firms cartels were paid between 25 and 80 percent more than they would have earned were the turbines actually running,,, >click to read< 10:28
Exposure to pile driving noise associated with construction of docks, piers, offshore wind farms, cause squid to exhibit strong alarm behaviors
“This study is the first to report behavioral effects of pile driving noise on any cephalopod, a group including squid, cuttlefish, and octopuses,” says lead author Ian Jones, a student in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography. Jones and his colleagues in the Sensory Ecology and Bioacoustics Lab at WHOI exposed longfin squid (Doryteuthis pealeii) to pile driving sounds originally recorded near the construction site of the Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island. >click to read< 11:52
Interior Department Considers Cable Plan to Wire Ocean Floor for Wind Farms Off NJ-NY Coast
As New Jersey and New York governors press for energy from giant wind turbines along the Atlantic coast and in the New York Bight, the question of how to best get the power to the shore has resulted in a call for public comment. Anbaric Development Partners LLC has applied to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management for a right-of-way to construct a New York and New Jersey Ocean Grid. According to the application, Ocean Grid is a proposed submarine system of cables approximately 185 nautical miles (213 statute miles) in length and including the construction of up to nine “offshore collector platforms,” or OCP. >click to read< 09:23
Underproduction? Offshore wind gets a warning from its biggest developer. Orsted
The world’s biggest developer of offshore wind farms issued a reality check to the industry, saying it has overestimated the amount of time its turbines are generating electricity. Copenhagen-based Orsted A/S announced that offshore wind farms wouldn’t produce quite as much power as previously forecast. The adjustment could shave millions of dollars of revenue a year off each project. It’s also a warning to other developers who may have used similar analysis to estimate the economics of their projects. >click to read< 16:44
Booming wind industry’s big worry
Land-based turbines are rising by the thousands across America, from the remote Texas plains to farm towns of Iowa. And the U.S. wind boom now is expanding offshore, with big corporations planning $70 billion in investment for the country’s first utility-scale offshore wind farms.,,, The Interior Department cited the surge in corporate interest for offshore wind projects in saying it wanted more study before moving forward. It directed Vineyard Wind to research the overall impact of the East Coast’s planned wind boom.,, Federal fisheries officials have been among the main bloc calling for more study, saying they need to know more about the impacts on ocean life. >click to read< 14:23
Offshore wind energy looks more promising for Oregon
“There will be some impacts to fishing grounds, some good, some bad, and some unknown,” he said. (where’s the good?) “But at the end of the day, the issue is: some people can’t fish where they want to or have historically fished.”(where’s the good?) Any offshore wind farm on this stretch of the Pacific will essentially act as a marine reserve, because commercial and recreational fishing will likely be limited in the area. >click to read< 18:19
New Jersey Fishermen Demand a Say in Decisions on Offshore Wind Farms
Fishermen insisted Monday to a congressional subcommittee looking at offshore wind energy that they be consulted,,, Fishermen should have been brought into the planning process from the start, Peter Hughes, of Atlantic Cape Fisheries, told U.S. House members from New Jersey and California who were holding a hearing at the Jersey Shore. “Look at these slides,” he said, referring to diagrams of where proposed wind projects would be built. “They’re right smack dab where we are fishing. This is going to put people out of business.” >click to read< 14:26
Federal subcommittee hearing opens lines of communication between offshore energy company and fishers – Photo’s >click to read< 19:28
Offshore Wind Farms Worry Fishermen from Point Judith to New Bedford
from the article, Before construction can begin, Vineyard Wind must first determine what the cost will be to Massachusetts’s commercial fishermen through federally mandated fisheries studies. How that cost is determined, and who gets to determine it, and what exactly should be studied, has proven no small source of contention between the wind industry and commercial fishing. Kendall has taken a pragmatic approach to the divide between fishing and wind energy. He sees wind farms as an inevitable outgrowth of Massachusetts’s push for renewable energy, now required by state law to demonstrate a 2% annual growth. If he can advocate for the fishing industry in the interim, he hopes he can help cut fishermen a square deal. >click to read< 09:18
Fishing For A Living Is Dangerous. Will Offshore Wind Farms Make It Worse?
“[Fishing is] like trying to drive around in a car with no brakes,” Daniel Farnham says. “on a road made out of treadmills and having obstacles thrown in your way continuously.”Farnham says offshore wind farms will make it worse. That’s because fishermen argue the turbines aren’t spaced far enough apart to allow vessels to safely navigate through them. The plan is to install 84 massive turbines in a grid-like pattern about three-quarters to a nautical mile apart. Farnham says mobile gear vessels like his, that have massive nets trawling behind them, will make it even harder to navigate. >click to read< 18:04
In Northeast, more research needed on offshore wind’s impact on fishing
As plans for wind farms across New England’s waters progress, fishermen continue to express concerns about the impact of the burgeoning offshore wind industry on their livelihoods. And while wind development is moving rapidly, (into your old fishing grounds) scientific research on the impacts on fisheries has struggled to keep up. But the tides may soon be turning, thanks to the collaborative efforts of the fishing industry, offshore wind developers, and government agencies. Last week, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance announced a new initiative to advance regional research on fisheries and offshore wind called the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance. >click to read<15:52
The Turbine versus Trawler Dilemma – Offshore wind farms will reduce commercial fishing grounds
California’s fishing industries are at risk of losing access to some of their fishing grounds as the state’s waters are scouted for the development of offshore wind farms. Ken Bates, vice president of the Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association, is concerned about this reality and has been working to develop a solution to mitigate the outfall of the turbine versus trawler dilemma. “[We want to] keep from losing any additional fishing grounds; that’s really what this is about,” he said.,,, Bates said a wind farm with 17 turbines would remove a minimum of 17 square miles of fishing grounds, but doubts it would stop there. It won’t stop there! >click to read<10:36
Hundreds Of Unexplained Whale Deaths Might Be Linked To Offshore Wind Farms….
“….there is at least a possible link between the proliferation of offshore turbines and the increase in whale deaths. It’s logical, no?” Perhaps a bigger mystery even than the unexplained deaths of up to 100 whales washed up on Scottish and Irish beaches during the past few months, is the fact that much of the media has been strangely quiet over the matter. It’s thought that very many more of the mammals might have perished at sea, meaning that several hundred whales might have died. >click to read<07:25
EMF (Electromagnetic Field) Effects and the Precautionary Principle – Nils E. Stolpe/FishNet USA
The following is taken from an OSPAR Commission (https://www.ospar.org/) report from 2008. It clearly shows that at the time when interest in offshore wind turbines was really starting to grow there was very little knowledge of, nor had much significant research been done on, the effects of electromagnetic fields on marine or estuarine species, and what little had been done was on mature organisms, with little or no attention given to immature stages. Background Document on potential problems associated with power cables other than those for oil and gas activities: Conclusions in regard to electromagnetic fields Our current knowledge about effects of electromagnetic fields on the marine environment, in particular fauna, is not sufficient. Only a few preliminary conclusions can be reached. click here to read the article 17:07
Washington State Marine Spatial Planning: Are ‘winds of change’ in store for local waters?
Could Pacific Ocean wind farms and fish-rearing net pens in Willapa Bay become future industries in Pacific County? Those are some possibilities being studied among an array of new potential ocean uses mentioned by the Washington Department of Ecology during a public meeting Wednesday, Nov. 8, in Long Beach. Marine Spatial Planning for Washington’s offshore waters was discussed by members of an inter-agency team led by Washington Department of Ecology Senior Ocean Planner Jennifer Hennessey. About 24 community members — including county officials, commercial fishermen and local oyster farmers — attended to listen or provide formal testimony regarding their concerns about new potential ocean uses and possible impacts on existing industries. click here to read the story 21:08
The Future Of Offshore Wind Farms In The Atlantic
Fishermen are worried about an offshore wind farm proposed 30 miles out in the Atlantic from Montauk, New York, the largest fishing port in the state. They say those wind turbines – and many others that have been proposed – will impact the livelihood of fishermen in New York and New England. Scallop fisherman Chris Scola pulls out of a Montauk marina at 2 a.m. and spends the next two-and-a-half hours motoring to an area about 14 miles out into the Atlantic. Then, with the help of his two-man crew, spends about 10 hours dredging the sea floor for scallops before heading back to port.,,, “It’s not just us in New York. It’s all down the Seaboard. They want projects from Maine all the way down to South Carolina.” click here to read the story 14:57
The surprising reason you might be seeing more jellyfish in the sea this summer
Scientists have discovered that offshore wind farms and oil and gas platforms provide an ideal habitat in which the creatures can thrive. Until now, the rapid increase in jellyfish numbers in oceans around the world has been largely blamed on overfishing, which wipes out their natural predators, global warming and nutrient run-off. The research suggests that man-made structures have played a role in the jellyfish boom by offering an enticing home for polyps — the tiny organisms which eventually grow into jellyfish. The results suggested a correlation between big jellyfish numbers and man-made structures such as energy platforms and wind farms. click here to read the story 13:41
Trawlermen vs Turbines: Offshore Wind Farms Putting Scottish Fishermen Out of Business
Celebrated in the BBC reality TV series, ‘Trawlermen’ the men that brave the waves in search of the seafood that graces British dining tables, restaurants and fish and chip shops risk life and limb to bring the catch home. Ruthlessly competitive, British fishermen not only have to contend with mountainous seas and other Trawlermen, now the fishing grounds that they fiercely guard as their own are literally being stolen out from under them. In just the latest example, Scottish Trawlermen operating in the Moray Firth are about to be displaced by hundreds of offshore wind turbines. The fishermen concerned are hoping that they might receive some kind of compensation for the massive financial loss. From STT’s long association with the wind industry, we wish them luck – they’re going to need it. click here to read the story 08:12
Being Pushed Out: Offshore wind farms add to woes of Dutch fishing fleet
Plans to extend the number Dutch offshore wind farms are adding to the problems faced by the Dutch North Sea fishing fleet, said the Financieele Dagblad on Monday. Proposals presented last Friday call for offshore wind farm capacity of 4,450 megawatts to be added until 2031, with capacity hiked to 10,000 megawatts by 2030. The wind farms would cover several thousand square kilometres in the North Sea. But with the major shipping lanes, large nature reserves, sand-mining areas and other areas off limits to the fisheries industry, Dutch fishing waters are being compromised. And with Brexit, British fishing grounds may be closed to Dutch fishing vessels, further adding to the problems, the paper said. link 08:41
BOEM: Offshore wind farms impact ‘small’ on fishing
The development of offshore wind farms in the US Atlantic will have a minimal impact on commercial fishing, according to a new report from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The BOEM report – ‘Socio-Economic Impact of Outer Continental Shelf Wind Energy Development on Fisheries in the US Atlantic – has been produced in conjunction with the National Marine Fisheries Service to better understand fishing activity in areas of potential offshore wind development. The only impact will be on permitted vessels using pots and gillnets in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts, which could result in losses of up to $517,000, it found. However, the impacts are not distributed evenly with 20 permits fishing out of Rhode Island ports of Narragansett and Newport and Massachusetts ports of New Bedford and Fairhaven affected the most. link 11:53
N.J.’s push for offshore wind farms loses steam
A few years ago, New Jersey’s political leaders laid out a vision: acres of giant wind turbines, rising like a modern flotilla in the Atlantic, their white blades spun by ocean gusts, generating clean renewable energy just beyond the horizon at the Jersey Shore. and other state policymakers set ambitious goals to develop New Jersey’s huge potential as a leader in offshore wind energy. But due to a combination of factors, New Jersey’s bid to become a trailblazer in offshore wind energy appears to have stalled. Read the rest here 12:31
Montauk Commercial Fishermen Want Say on Wind Farm
The queer minded notions of Deepwater chief executive Jeffrey Grybowski
As a Rhode Island company navigates multiple regulatory agencies in order to construct the first offshore wind farms in the United States in the ocean east of Montauk, commercial fishermen are raising concerns about how such projects will impact their livelihood. “We’re trying to sustainably grow the fishing economy,” said Ms. Brady, who lives in Montauk. “You don’t destroy something in the name of green energy. To destroy a sustainable industry in the name of sustainability is insane.” Read more here 16:53
British fisheries consultant urges ‘coexistence’ with offshore wind – They said we could co exist with the Red Coats, too!
He said the best advice for the New Bedford fleet was to cooperate with the wind farm developers as early as possible in order to have a say in the process. His comments on the offshore wind industry were met with skepticism by some in the audience, like Jim Kendall, who said local offshore wind developers like Cape Wind had not been cooperating with the fishing industry. Good on you Jim Kendall! Read more here 12:53
We can’t win if we don’t fight! “Save the Oceans” – Not from “overfishing”, but from GREED!
This is a response (and hopefully an alternative) to the position of “Well, it’s coming anyway, it’s inevitable; so’s we might as well take whatever we can get out of it…go on home, and call it good” In fact, we probably won’t survive at all…if we don’t fight. Are we willing to give over our fisheries to the barnstorming energy industrialists looking for a new pair of financial roller skates? Are we willing to let them turn our fishing grounds into oilfields and windfarms, where for “security reasons” they’ll install multi-mile buffer zones preventing any and all craft from entering—except the “officially authorized” of course? Are we willing to let a bunch of Conservation Law Foundation lawyers take over our fisheries management and influence public opinion and cowed officials to regulate fishing into oblivion? . click here to read the story 15:49
Something they are worried about across the pond. Should we be worried? Yes.
Wind farm rush ‘may hit lobster and crab fishing’
Published on Wednesday 26 December 2012 06:00 THE drive for green energy could threaten the future of one of Yorkshire’s most lucrative traditional industries, its leaders have warned. The sea bed off the East Riding coast is described as the “perfect” habitat for crab and lobster and is the biggest fishery of its kind in the UK, netting an annual catch worth millions. But although generations have fished it sustainably for 200 years, fishermen say the industry is facing an unprecedented threat from the development of offshore wind farms, which it is feared will lead to large-scale industrialisation of the sea bed. Read More
