July 2, 2018 — Rhode Island fishermen say a patch of the Atlantic Ocean south of Martha’s Vineyard is among the best places around to catch squid.
They are also the same waters in which a developer selected by Massachusetts plans to install up to 100 giant wind turbines that would supply clean, renewable energy to the state.
Now, Rhode Island coastal regulators and the state’s fishing community are raising concerns that the offshore wind farm that Vineyard Wind wants to build in 250 square miles of federally-owned ocean may affect access to the squid grounds that are critical to the Point Judith fleet.
“They cut out scallop fisheries valued by Massachusetts,” said Grover Fugate, executive director of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council. “But the grounds left are valued by Rhode Island fishermen, particularly for squid.”
Erich Stephens, chief development officer for Vineyard Wind, said the company has worked hard to accommodate the needs of Rhode Island fishermen — such as working to restrict the prospective schedule for laying a transmission cable to avoid the height of the squid fishing season in the summer — but he also acknowledged the dissatisfaction in some quarters with the proposed 800-megawatt wind farm.
“At the end of the day, there are a lot of different interests,” Stephens said. “It’s not possible to come up with a single design that will keep everyone happy.”