July 21, 2020 — Today, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt met with representatives of the commercial fishing industry to discuss their concerns with offshore wind at a roundtable organized by Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities. The roundtable included representatives from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and North Carolina:
Members of New England’s commercial fishing industry who feel they’ve been cast aside in the rush toward offshore wind took their concerns straight to the top of the Trump administration Tuesday in a Seaport sit-down with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.
“The fishing industry is not anti-wind. But the fishing industry’s not been part of this process from the beginning,” said Lund’s Fisheries Chairman Jeff Reichle. “Let’s do it the right way.”
Industry representatives voiced a raft of concerns with offshore wind, including the safety of commercial and recreational boaters navigating the waters, issues towing fishing nets through the farms and the potential for disrupting marine life.
Bernhardt said he’s not looking to “whack people with an unnecessary burden if we can avoid it” but noted he’s “very eager” to pursue offshore wind “in a way that works.”