May 20, 2021 — Fishermen from Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York are providing vessels to help offshore wind developers Ørsted and Eversource in what the joint venture partners are calling the first substantial contract with “a commercial fishing consortium in the history of U.S. offshore wind.”
Sea Services North America, based in Waterford, Conn., and its fishermen partners will work in and around the companies’ Northeast offshore wind developments, including the 704-megawatt Revolution Wind project, the 132 MW South Fork Wind, and the 924 MW Sunrise Wind.
The company’s work “ensures enhanced safety and protection of the ocean environment, but also will support the region’s economy by creating new jobs and providing an economic opportunity for our fishermen,” according to Sea Services CEO and co-founder Gordon Videll.
Starting in 2020 Sea Services fishermen helped Revolution Wind survey vessels to locate, identify and avoid gill nets and other fixed gear. During that pilot project, its fishermen worked 150 days over 6,000 miles to assist the vessels “without any gear conflict,” Videll said in an interview Thursday with NF.