Responsible Offshore Development Association to BOEM: Don’t Forget Fishermen in the Rush To Expand Wind Energy
Washington, D.C. Wednesday, April 7, 2021 — On April 6th, 1,665 members of fishing communities in every U.S. coastal state submitted a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) requesting a transparent and balanced national planning process for offshore wind development.
Offshore wind development poses direct conflicts with fishing and the current permitting process provides no meaningful opportunity to include the needs of sustainable seafood harvesting and production in strategies to mitigate climate change. Recent interagency announcements to fast-track offshore wind energy production have provided no commitments to address this transgression of the federal government’s public trust duties.
On the eve of the expected Record of Decision for the Vineyard Wind I project, which would be the first commercial-scale offshore wind energy project in U.S. federal waters, the signers request that BOEM adopt reasonable and consistently requested fisheries mitigation measures for the project if it is approved.
The letter’s signers hail from every U.S. coastal state and depend on some of the most prominent fishing companies and associations in the country or are directly connected to the seafood supply chain. Collectively they are affiliated with businesses and organizations of nearly 60,000 employees and members from vertically integrated seafood companies, individual commercial vessels, hotels, restaurants, mayors, churches, wholesalers, processors, the recreational and sportfishing sector, vessel services, shoreside services, scientists, next-generation fishermen, cooperatives, community-supported markets, buoy makers and boat welders.
These include, among many others:
National/Multiple Regions
- Seafood Harvesters of America, Fisheries Survival Fund, Chef’s Warehouse
New England
- Rhode Island: Seafreeze Ltd, Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association, Kingston Trawlers, Salt Pond Fisheries, Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island, The Town Dock, Sea Fresh USA, V Northeast Fishery Sector, RI Party and Charter Boat Association, Frances Fleet, Seaside Fuel, Sakonnet Point Fisheries, RiverCenter Marine, RI Lobstermen’s Association, Kingston Trawlers, Nordic Fisheries, Northern Pelagic Group (Norpel), Hansen Scalloping, Cape Seafoods, North Atlantic Pacific Seafood, Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, II Northeast Fishery Sector, V Northeast Fishery Sector, XI Northeast Fishery Sector, Gloucester Fisheries Commission, Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association, BASE, Kathryn Marie Scalloping Company; Buckeye Scalloping Company, Hunter Scalloping Company; Ligia Pereira Scalloping Company, Foley Fish, Eastern Fisheries, Blue Harvest Fisheries, Northeast Seafood Coalition, Dockside Repairs, Quinn Fisheries, Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, Canastra Fishing, Courageous Fishing Corp., Eagle Eye Fishing Corp., SAI Fisheries, Empire Fisheries, Maine Lobstermen’s Association, Associated Fisheries of Maine, Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Downeast Lobstermen’s Association, Maine Lobstering Union, O’Hara Corp., Bar Harbor Foods, Port Clyde Fresh Catch, Weskeag Fisheries, New Hampshire Commercial Fishermen’s Association, Fishing Partnership Support Services, BroadBill Fishing, Double Diamond Fishing Corp., Fox Seafood, Big Game Sportfishing, Cockeast Fisheries, Solveig’s, Eastern New England Scallop Association, A.G.V. Company, RI Saltwater Anglers Association, Keyfloater96, Superior Trawl
Mid-Atlantic
- Lund’s Fisheries, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, Virginia Waterman’s Association, Silver Dollar Seafood, Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Viking Village, Garden State Seafood Association, Surfside Foods, La Monica Fine Foods, Sea Watch International, Barnegat Light Taxpayers’ Association, Hooked Up Marketplace, TMT Clams, Wanchese Fish Company, Seaford Scallop Company, Mike’s Seafood, Oceanside Marine, B&C Seafood, Sea Devil Fishing Co., Lilly Rose Fisheries, Barbara Joan Fisheries, Skilligalee Seafood, Yannis Karavia, Greenport Seafood Dock
West Coast & Alaska
- Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, California Wetfish Producers Association, Southern Cal Seafood, SunCoast Calamari, Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization, Arctic Storm, Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Marketing Association, Shrimp Producers Marketing Cooperative, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, Fishermen’s Association of Moss Landing, West Coast Seafood Processors Association, Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association, Oregon Trawl Commission, Santa Cruz Commercial Fishermen’s Association, Westport Seafood, Midwater Trawlers Cooperative, San Francisco Community Fishing Association, United Catcher Boats Association, Ocean Gold Seafood, Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative, American Albacore Fishing Association, Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, Pacific Seafood, Bornstein Seafoods, Englund Marine and Industrial Supply, Seafood Producers Cooperative, Newport Landing Sportfishing, San Francisco Crab Boat Owners’ Association, Marina Del Rey Sportfishing Western Fishboat Owners Association, Winter Hawk Fisheries, Da Yang Seafood, Maranatha Fisheries, Del Mar Seafoods
South Atlantic & Gulf of Mexico
- Anderson’s Marina, Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant, Hulls Seafood, Key Largo Fisheries, Half Hitch Tackle, Wild Ocean Market, Duckworth Steel Boats, Aylesworth’s Fish & Bait, Long Shot Charters, Panama City Boatmen Association; Southern Offshore Fishing Association, National Association of Charterboat Operators, Triar Seafood Co, Southeastern Fisheries Assn, Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, Cap’n Blacks Bait & Seafood
About Responsible Offshore Development Alliance
Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) is a broad membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and fishing companies — across the United States — committed to improving the compatibility of new offshore development with their businesses. The alliance works to directly collaborate with relevant regulatory agencies, scientists, and others to coordinate science and policy approaches to managing the development of the Outer Continental Shelf in a way that minimizes conflicts with existing traditional and historical fishing.
