July 29, 2021 — Nine states along the East Coast that are frontrunners for American offshore wind farms over the next decade are in talks with the federal government about ways to mitigate revenue losses for commercial fishing once the farms are built out.
Commercial fishing industries in the Mid-Atlantic have long been opposed to offshore wind farms, which coastal states and the Biden administration are pushing as a necessary component of a greener power grid. The fishing interests, which argue that the wind farms will interfere with their operations, are seen as the last major holdout to hundreds of wind turbines in the ocean from North Carolina to Massachusetts.
Commercial fisheries say the wind farms, which would be spread over hundreds of nautical miles, could displace wildlife, and shorten the amount of time spent fishing while at sea.
The nine states initially proposed providing some sort of subsidy to commercial fishing in a June 4 letter to President Joe Biden. Reuters first reported Wednesday that talks have begun between the federal government and states in how to offset fishing revenue losses.