Saving Seafood

State and Local

RHODE ISLAND: Will Trump’s offshore wind executive order halt RI’s projects? What to know.

January 22, 2025 — An executive order signed by President Donald Trump aimed at reining in the expansion of offshore wind may not affect projects that are already in the development pipeline off southern New England.

The sweeping order signed on Monday temporarily halts sales of leases to offshore wind developers in federal waters and pauses permitting for projects, pending a review by the Department of the Interior and other federal government agencies.

But the order doesn’t go so far as trying to put a stop to wind farms that have already gone through the federal permitting process or are under construction.

They include Revolution Wind, the 704-megawatt project that is being built off the Rhode Island coast, or SouthCoast Wind, the proposal for up to 2,400 megawatts of capacity south of Nantucket that last month got the green light from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is part of the interior department.

Read the full article at the The Providence Journal

VIRGINIA: Dominion says offshore wind farm moving forward, despite executive order

January 22, 2025 — President Donald Trump started his second term Monday with a flurry of executive orders, including one that temporarily ceases all federal wind leases under consideration and calls for an “immediate review” of the policies before resuming.

So, what does that mean for Virginia and Dominion Power, which is midway through constructing its $9.8 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind farm off the coast of Virginia Beach and has purchased two other wind farm leases in the Atlantic Ocean?

The Richmond-based Fortune 500 utility said in a statement Tuesday that it is “confident CVOW will be completed on time, and that Virginia’s clean energy transition will continue with bipartisan support for many years to come.”

Read the full article at Virginia Business

Seafood companies rally to help fire-affected California communities

January 22, 2025 — As wildfires continue to affect communities around Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., and as new ones have broken out to the south in San Diego, several seafood companies are rallying to help out by donating food and supplies.

Santa Monica Seafood, the largest seafood wholesaler in the area, is donating lobsters to Bracken’s Kitchen, a charitable food organization, so it can provide Lobster Mac & Cheese meals to those in need, according to President and CEO Roger O’Brien.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MASSACHUSETTS: Two Mass. offshore wind projects postpone contracts until after Trump takes office

January 21, 2025 — The signing of contracts for two new Massachusetts offshore wind farms, previously set for this week, has been postponed until after the presidential inauguration.

The power-purchase agreements between three Massachusetts utilities and the developers of New England Wind 1 and SouthCoast Wind were due to be signed Wednesday.

The parties now say they expect to reach an agreement by March 31, more than two months after the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to halt offshore wind.

One of the utilities, National Grid, sent a letter to the Healey administration saying the developers, Avangrid and Ocean Winds, “have not yet completed their contract negotiations.”

Read the full article at CAI

MASSACHUSETTS: Dozens protest wind farms and impact on whales in New Bedford

January 21, 2025 — Dozens of protesters gathered in New Bedford Saturday, demanding an end to offshore wind projects immediately.

The protest came one day after final federal approval for the Southcoast Wind Project, 26 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.

Protesters said they were outraged over potential impacts on the environment, coastal neighborhoods, and the commercial fishing industry.

Read the full article at WJAR

NEW JERSEY: South Jersey congressman working with Trump to halt offshore wind

January 17, 2025 — New Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew, a Republican from Cape May County, said he’s working with President-elect Donald Trump on an executive order that “would halt offshore wind on the East Coast.”

“These offshore wind projects should have never been approved in the first place,” Van Drew said in a statement, referring to President Joe Biden’s effort to expand renewable energy as a “reckless green agenda that put politics over people.”

He says the executive order is just the first step in reversing course on the state’s offshore wind development.

“We will fight tooth and nail to prevent this offshore wind catastrophe from wreaking havoc on the hardworking people who call our coastal towns home,” Van Drew said.

Read the full article at whyy

MASSACHUSETTS: Can a $10M wind-energy center in New Bedford withstand opposition from locals and Trump?

January 17, 2025 — A state agency will continue efforts to develop a more than $10 million offshore-wind-based, ocean-energy innovation center in New Bedford in 2025, despite national opposition to offshore wind and local opposition to a proposed site.

Nationally, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to halt offshore wind development.

Locally, an attorney has compiled 236 signatures in opposition to the center’s “preferred” site, a 17,000-square-foot parking lot abutting the Bourne Counting House off McArthur Drive on Homer’s Wharf, leased through the Port Authority. The center would include the Bourne Counting House building, which would be renovated.

Read the full article at The Herald News

NEW HAMPSHIRE: NH looking for candidates to serve on fishing council

January 17, 2025 — The State of New Hampshire has been notified by the National Marine Fisheries Service of a vacancy for New Hampshire’s obligatory seat on the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC). NEFMC is one of eight regional councils in the United States established by federal regulation in 1976. It is charged with conserving and managing fishery resources from 3 to 200 miles off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

To assist in filling this vacancy, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Marine Fisheries Division will host a candidates’ interview night on Monday, February 10, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at the Urban Forestry Center in Portsmouth, NH. Potential candidates should be prepared to present their qualifications at this session. Interested candidates should contact Cheri Patterson, Chief of Marine Fisheries for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, at (603) 868-1095 in advance of the meeting.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

NEW JERSEY: Trump on Track to Halt Wind Farms Approved Off LBI

January 16, 2025 — A local grassroots organization is continuing its battle in the courtroom to have offshore wind farms off Long Beach Island and Brigantine scrapped in perpetuity without a chance of being revived in the future, even as President-elect Donald J. Trump prepares to deliver on his campaign promise to permanently stop offshore wind energy projects off the East Coast under his administration.

A presidential executive order halting wind turbine activity off the East Coast is expected to be finalized in the first few months of his second presidency.

“These offshore wind projects should never have been approved in the first place,” Congressman Jeff Van Drew said Jan. 13, adding he has been working closely with Trump to draft the order, which also lays the groundwork for permanent measures against the projects.

Whether the permanent measures are related to national security is unknown, but in November, Sweden, a country viewed as wind turbine friendly, rejected certain offshore wind projects in the Baltic Sea due to concerns over radar interference and national security.

What is known is that in the days almost immediately following Sweden’s action, elevated drone sightings over New Jersey and other East Coast states began. Those reports reached a frenzy last month as federal agencies punted on what New Jersey residents were seeing and where the so-called drone incursions originated. (See related story in this edition.)

“That’s one of the issues connected to this (Atlantic Shores) project because we have military radars in Gibbsboro, N.J.,” Bob Stern, president of Save LBI, said at the time, explaining radar is used to protect against unwanted activities in the ocean and would be impacted by offshore wind turbines.

“There have been rumblings from our Department of Defense about this project and other projects. We’ve not been able to really get a lot of information about that, maybe because some of it is classified. But I’m pretty sure our defense department has had some issues with this (radar interference) as well,” Stern said.

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind did not respond to a request for comment as of The SandPaper deadline.

Meanwhile, Van Drew said earlier this week the outgoing administration rammed offshore wind projects through an approval process that lacked proper oversight, transparent lease agreements and a full understanding of the consequences.

“They are an economic and environmental disaster waiting to happen,” Van Drew said. “President Trump is committed to stopping these harmful projects and is taking decisive action. This executive order is just the beginning. We will fight tooth and nail to prevent this offshore wind catastrophe from wreaking havoc on the hardworking people who call our coastal towns home.”

Paulina O’Connor, executive director of the New Jersey Offshore Wind Alliance, disagrees.

“It is well documented that all proposed offshore wind projects go through rigorous reviews at all levels of government and there are extensive processes in place to provide members of the public the opportunity to participate in hearings and provide comments on all proposed projects. Recent comments and actions suggesting otherwise are misleading,” O’Connor said when reached the evening of Jan. 13. “Offshore wind remains New Jersey’s best solution to achieve energy independence.”

Read the full article at The Sand Paper

VIRGINIA: VA Marine Scientists Leads National Program Cleaning up Discarded Fishing Gear, Awarding New Grants

January 16, 2025 — The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and William and Mary’s Coastal Sciences school are leading the charge nationwide to clean up discarded fishing gear and “ghost pots” from U.S. waterways.

William & Mary’s Batten School and VIMS, administrators of the National Fishing Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) Program, has awarded $1.4 million to fund 11 projects to retrieve derelict lobster and crab traps in 2025. This initial round supports projects in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, New York, Washington and the Pacific Island State of Palau, as well as ongoing efforts by the Virginia Marine Debris Program.

In 2023, using funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Debris Program awarded an $8 million, four-year competitive grant to the Batten School & VIMS to administer the TRAP program. One important feature of the project will be standardizing data collection practices and establishing a national database to evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of these projects.

Read the full article at Chesapeake Bay Magazine