February 21, 2019 — The following was released by the Fisheries Survival Fund:
A new video, Winds of Change, released today by the Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF), documents how the arrival of offshore wind blindsided U.K. fishermen, and how the wind farms have permanently changed their traditional fishing grounds and how they make their livelihoods.
Last year, two members of FSF traveled to the United Kingdom to learn how fishermen in Ramsgate, England and Aberdeen, Scotland have been impacted by offshore wind development. Those lessons are documented in Winds of Change.
“As offshore wind moves forward here in the U.S., it’s essential that it’s able to co-exist with the fishing communities that have depended on these waters for generations,” said Andrew Minkiewicz, an attorney for FSF. “We must learn from the experiences of European fishermen if we want to avoid the same pitfalls and make the best decisions for American fishermen and offshore wind developers.”
Winds of Change explains the impacts offshore wind can have on marine ecosystems, including altering the flow and direction of the tide, churning up sediment, and changing fish behavior or causing them to leave the area altogether. It also shows how wind farms can affect fishing operations, leaving vessels with little room to maneuver through wind turbines and interfering with navigation systems.
The video highlights the need for fishing knowledge and input early in the process of siting and developing offshore wind farms. English fishermen explain how they were not given the opportunity to provide input into the siting of the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, which lies seven miles off the coast of Kent, England, right in the middle of important fishing grounds.
“One of the developers turned up one day with these agents…and said ‘we’re going to build a wind farm here,’” says John Nichols, Chairman of the Thanet Fishermen’s Association, in the video. “And they said ‘but we’re not worried about the fishermen because it’s divide and conquer, fishermen can’t stick together.’”
Several leases have already been awarded for wind farms off the East Coast of the U.S., including one in an area that is prime grounds for sea scallops. Additional lease areas are also currently under consideration.