Saving Seafood

State and Local

MASSACHUSETTS: First Major U.S. Wind Farm Construction Begins Off Massachusetts—And More Are Coming

June 10, 2023 — Construction of the initial turbines in the first major U.S. offshore wind farm began this week south of Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts, following a years-long legal battle and a series of federal slow-downs over the controversial project—part of the Biden Administration’s push for green energy and the first in a wall of offshore wind projects off the East Coast.

Construction began on the foundation of the first of 62 nearly 850-foot-tall turbines as part of the Vineyard Wind I project, the country’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, roughly 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, the company announced Wednesday.

Vineyard Wind, which was first approved for a nearly 167,000-acre federal lease site from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in 2015, is one of nine proposed offshore wind farms south of Massachusetts and Rhode Island leased through the federal government (totaling roughly 742,000 acres)—part of President Joe Biden’s goal of creating 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 and an instrumental part of his ambitious goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

ALASKA: Salmon are disappearing on the Yukon and Kuskokwim. Here’s what to know about the crisis this summer.

June 10, 2023 — People on the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers are expecting another dismal year for harvesting salmon, the food that used to fill their smokehouses and freezers. It’s a disaster that repeats annually, felt acutely in the region and accepted elsewhere as the new, bad normal.

Here’s a primer on the Y-K Delta salmon crisis and how this year is shaping up.

Which salmon are affected?

Chinook (king) and chum are the major salmon species on the Yukon and Kuskokwim. They’ve been at historically low numbers in both rivers for years. The coho (silver) returns have also dropped.

Read the full article at KTOO

ALASKA: ‘It’ll be a disaster’: Southeast Alaska fishermen fear looming closure of king salmon fishery

June 10, 2023 — More than 100 salmon trollers packed a Sitka meeting Wednesday night with sharp questions about the future of an iconic Southeast Alaska fishery, facing what could be an unprecedented full shutdown of this year’s chinook trolling season.

“I’m optimistic, but I’m also scared as heck,” said Eric Jordan, a lifelong fisherman and resident of trolling stronghold Sitka at the standing room-only meeting with federal National Marine Fisheries Service officials.

The closure of the king salmon fishery in Southeast Alaska would be economically devastating, according to many in the region who rely on the valuable fish for their annual income.

A federal judge in Washington state effectively shut down the fishery in May in response to a lawsuit brought by Wild Fish Conservancy, a Washington organization. The suit contends that the fishery should be closed to protect endangered killer whales in Puget Sound that feed on chinook salmon.

Southeast Alaska’s summer troll fishery would typically open July 1. The state has requested that a federal appeals court decide whether the fishery will open by June 23 to give fishermen time to get ready for the season. But some in the industry say that will already be too late.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is doing “everything we can” to respond to the lawsuit, including work on a new biological opinion that could address some of the Seattle judge’s concerns, said Jon Kurland, the Juneau-based regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries Alaska, at a Wednesday night meeting meant to give trollers a chance to ask questions.

Read the full article at Anchorage Daily News

NEW YORK: NY offshore wind developers also seek price relief

June 8, 2023 — MAJOR OFFSHORE wind developers in New York say their projects may no longer be financially viable unless regulators amend their power purchase agreements to include adjustments for inflation and interconnection costs.

In petitions filed with state regulators on Wednesday, the New York wind farm operators followed the same script as developers in Massachusetts, who say their projects have been overwhelmed by inflation, rising interest rates, supply chain disruption, and the war in Ukraine.

The Massachusetts developers initially sought to modify their existing power purchase agreements, but when that plea fell on deaf ears at the Department of Public Utilities they moved to terminate the agreements they signed last year and rebid the projects at higher prices in a procurement coming in 2024.

In New York, the developers are asking state regulators to agree to price adjustments in the existing contracts. They point out that New York has approved including similar price adjustments as part of the state’s third offshore wind procurement process, and now should retroactively apply them to contracts approved in the first two procurements.

Read the full article at Common Wealth

NEW JERSEY: Offshore wind encounters turbulence over NJ

June 8, 2023 — The offshore wind industry’s troubles continue to pile up — not only in New Jersey but in neighboring states along the Eastern Seaboard.

On Wednesday, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Joseph Fiordaliso, perhaps one of the sector’s biggest advocates, let loose with an uncharacteristic rant at a developer in the emerging industry. Although he did not name the company, it was seen as a reference to Ørsted, which owns and is developing New Jersey’s initial offshore wind project.

Fiordaliso expressed frustration over repeated delays in moving forward with the project. “Your delays are intolerable,’’ he said. As was his custom, he had an offshore wind logo pinned on his suit.

“We cannot afford any more delays,’’ Fiordaliso said, adding there are no delays in the pace of climate change. “Some of the things that are being delayed are indefensible.’’

The agency, which is overseeing the state’s offshore wind efforts, also deferred action on a related issue that Brian Lipman, director of the Division of Rate Counsel, urged the regulators to delay. In a letter to the agency, Lipman said his office had no opportunity to assess the potential impact of a proposal to make changes in how the state connects electricity generated by the wind farms to the power grid.

Read the full article at New Jersey Spotlight News

MAINE: Maine bill to pay lobstermen to test new gear gets initial Senate approval

June 8, 2023 — A bill to help Maine lobstermen test new gear in preparation for potential federal restrictions meant to protect endangered right whales gained unanimous bipartisan approval in the Senate.

The bill seeks to set aside $1 million a year for the next two years to help lobstermen comply with federal regulations that could kick-in within six years.

The industry has faced intense pressure in recent years as federal officials have instituted restrictions to try to save the whales, which are believed to number fewer than 340.

Following the Senate vote on Tuesday, bill sponsor Sen. Eloise Vitelli (D-Arrowsic) said federal regulators have “targeted Maine’s lobster industry as a scapegoat.”

Read the full article at Spectrum News

MASSACHUSETTS: Turbine blades arrive in New Bedford as second heavy load carrier navigates harbor

June 7, 2023 –A few hours after the UHL Felicity departed the Port of New Bedford to head back to Portugal, another blue-hulled heavy load carrier, RollDock Sky, eased through the hurricane barrier Tuesday morning, bringing more wind turbine parts (this time, blades) into port.

The foreign-flagged 460-foot vessel departed the Netherlands in May, and then stopped in Gaspe, Canada, to retrieve blades from General Electric’s manufacturing facility before coming to New Bedford.

A GE spokesperson said the vessel was carrying six blades. The 62-turbine project, with three bladers per tower, will require 186 in total. The carrier’s deck equipment obfuscated the 351-foot blades a bit, but four were visible atop the ship.

The movement of new parts comes a few days after the local longshoremen’s union reached a contract with Vineyard Wind. The union previously shut down work at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal — the project’s staging site — in protest of Vineyard Wind’s hiring practices. The strike started one day after the first turbine components arrived, and ended late last week.

Prior to the contract, 12 local longshoremen members had part-time positions for Vineyard Wind out of more than 300 union workers, most of which came from the Boston area. The new contract guarantees a 40-hour week for some workers and hires additional part-time longshoremen, The Light reported.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

 

NEW YORK: Trying to explain the whys of Long Island wind farms

June 5, 2023 — A group of experts attempted to explain to a large crowd at Long Beach’s City Hall last Wednesday the need for a plan by New York State to construct a wind farm off Long Island’s South Shore.

The plan has generated considerable controversy in Long Beach and Oceanside, over health issues generated by cables stretching from the wind turbines to the E.F. Barrett Power Plant in Island Park.

But the experts were not always successful.

The presentation was organized by the Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE) led by its executive director, Adrienne Esposito.

Topics included the basics of the Offshore Wind project, the dangers of electromagnetic fields (EMFs), how the project will affect marine life and the benefit for local labor and jobs.

Read the full article at LIHerald.com

MAINE: Rare orange lobster caught off coast of Maine

June 5, 2023 — A rare orange lobster was caught recently off the coast of Maine by a Scarborough fisherman.

The lobster, which has one claw, was caught in Casco Bay by Capt. Gregg Turner and his crew, Sage Blake and Mandy Cyr while fishing on the boat Deborah and Megan, according to a statement by Cyr.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen one and the second time Captain Gregg has,” Cyr said. “It’s pretty exciting.”

The orange lobster is not destined for a pot of boiling water. It has been kept at Turners Lobsters on Pine Point Road in Scarborough while awaiting transfer to its new home at the University of New England’s Arthur P. Girard Marine Science Center in Biddeford. Turner and his crew caught a Calico lobster last winter and also donated it to UNE. Students named that lobster “Sprinkles.”

Read the full article at The Press Herald