May 24, 2021 โ The company that intends to build a $2.8 billion offshore wind project south of Marthaโs Vineyard is paying the UMass Dartmouth and the Massachusetts Lobstermenโs Association about $2 million a year to survey the sea floor before, during and after construction and see what impact the project has on the ocean.
Vineyard Wind has contracted with the School for Marine Science and Technology to send scientists out on local lobster and fishing vessels to measure, tag and count the lobsters and fish they catch before releasing them back into the ocean. The data they collect will establish a baseline of what sea life inhabits the 167,000 acres of ocean that the company is leasing, as well as an adjacent area for comparison.
โWe have a strong interest in using local mariners with local knowledge as much as possible,โ said Andrew Doba, a Vineyard Wind spokesman.