Saving Seafood

The Best Fish Is Also the Most Local. Why Is It So Hard to Find?

April 23, 2024 — On a cold, windy February morning on Shinnecock Bay, on the South Fork of Long Island, N.Y., Ricky Sea Smoke fished for clams from the back of his 24-foot boat. The fisherman, whose real name is Rick Stevens, expertly sorted through haul after haul as they were dumped onto the sorting rack.

Among the usual littlenecks and cherrystones were delicacies that would make chefs swoon: sweet, plump razor clams; vermilion-fleshed blood clams; and dainty limpets (also known as slipper snails) with their inimitable saline, buttery flavor. Depending on the season, fishers like Mr. Stevens can bring in even more treasures, like scallops, squid, blue crabs, striped bass, mackerel and skate.

But almost none of them are available locally.

But late last year, Mr. Stevens found a workaround by sending his clams to Dock to Dish, one of a growing number of small businesses across the country — including restaurant suppliers, shops, farmers’ markets and community-supported fisheries — that are dedicated to helping fishing communities sell their catch directly to local markets.

For chefs and home cooks, this means that finding truly fresh, local wild seafood is getting a little easier — at least for anyone willing to wade past the deluge of imported farmed salmon to find it.

Dock to Dish is committed to buying whatever seafood fishing boats bring in, limpets and all, then selling it directly to nearby customers, often within 24 to 48 hours. Chefs at New York City restaurants, including ILIS, M. Wells and Houseman, get to offer local specialties like exceptionally fresh royal red shrimp and blood clams.

Read the full article at the The New York Times

New York cancels three offshore wind contracts

April 22, 2024 — Provisional contracts for three New York Bight wind projects were cancelled, after “technical and commercial complexities” made it impossible for developers to move forward, New York State energy planners announced Friday.

The projects were provisionally awarded in October 2023 with New York’s third round of renewable energy solicitation. The cancellations are tied to General Electric’s decision not to proceed with building 18-megawatt turbines, meaning costs would go up using more, smaller machines, Politico and E&E News reported. 

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority said it had to close out the offshore third round without final contract awards. GE’s move to stick with smaller turbines was a key factor, according to NYSERDA.

“Subsequent to the provisional award announcement, material modifications to projects bid into New York’s third offshore wind solicitation caused technical and commercial complexities between provisional awardees and their partners, resulting in the provisionally awarded parties’ inability to come to terms,” according to an agency statement.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Rising Costs Sink New York Ocean Wind Projects, Is New Jersey Next?

April 22, 2024 — This week, rising costs sunk three offshore wind farm projects in New York State. After a tumultuous year on the other side of the river, New Jersey lost two large projects being built by Danish wind energy giant 0rsted. 0rsted bailed on New Jersey, and costs are continuing to rise, making previous wind energy deals unaffordable.

Can New Jersey be the next in the line of turbine dominos to fall?

Read the full article at Shore News Network

Major offshore wind projects in New York canceled, scallop industry likely to benefit

April 20, 2024 —  Politico reported today that three New York offshore wind projects are being scrapped. NYSERDA, the state authority in charge of offshore wind deals, announced Friday that no final agreements could be reached with the three projects that received provisional awards in October 2023. 

This decision has nothing to do with concerns raised by fishing interests, but it is good news, particularly for the scallop industry. 

  • The Attentive Energy One project area is in the New York Bight scallop access area, which is an important scallop ground. 
  • The Community Offshore Wind project has some scallop grounds in it, but it’s also adjacent to highly productive traditional grounds, so it could impact seeding of larvae. 
  • Excelsior Wind by Vineyard Offshore has an open bottom scallop fishing area in it. 

The three bids, Attentive Energy One, Community Offshore Wind, and Excelsior Wind, were all linked to major supply chain investments by General Electric and a larger turbine it planned to build. In February, GE decided not to move forward with an 18-megawatt turbine. NYSERDA confirmed that was the main reason no final awards were made. 

There has also been a limit to the degree to which state utility regulators are willing to let the rates go up, which means there’s a cap on how much the companies can earn per megawatt. The overriding question is: Could they produce this power from wind and make money at current rates, given the cost to install these turbines? Apparently, the answer was no. 

Biden administration approves the nation’s seventh large offshore wind project

March 27, 2024 — The Biden administration greenlit the seventh large offshore wind project in the United States Tuesday.

Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and the utility Eversource plan to build a 924-megawatt project, Sunrise Wind, 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Montauk, New York. They say the wind farm will power about 600,000 New York homes when it opens in 2026.

This month, the companies opened the nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. The 12-turbine wind farm called South Fork Wind is 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Montauk. They announced their financial commitment to the Sunrise Wind project when the Interior Department issued its decision.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Despite fierce opposition, South Fork Wind completes turbines

March 19, 2024 — South Fork Wind, an array of 12 turbines 35 miles east of Montauk, N.Y., became the first fully operational offshore wind energy project in U.S. federal waters on March 14. This milestone for the U.S. industry was one of its earliest and most bitterly fought projects.

In May 2023, fishermen pointed out that Ørsted and co-developer Eversource Energy LLC illegally expanded the no-fishing and no-travel zones while laying cables connecting the turbines to the mainland electric grid east of Montauk.

The approved construction plan called for a 500-meter buffer on either side of the cables; however, on April 20, fishermen in the area stated, allegedly, that they were told by the Ørsted vessel that they must stay a mile and a half away from each side of the cable. Many other groups and New York natives have initially opposed the project.

With a maximum nameplate rating of 132 megawatts, South Fork Wind was first approved by the Long Island Power Authority in 2017. Partners Ørsted and Eversource began construction in February 2022, and completion was announced Thursday.

“When I broke ground on the South Fork project, I promised to build a cleaner, greener future for all New Yorkers,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said, announcing the completion. “With more projects in the pipeline, this is just the beginning of New York’s offshore wind future. I look forward to continued partnership with the Biden Administration and local leaders to build a clean and resilient energy grid.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

South Fork Wind Farm off Rhode Island’s coast starts producing power

March 15, 2024 — The nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind farm is fully operational and capable of sending its entire capacity of power to the electric grid.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and other state and federal officials flipped a symbolic switch on Thursday, marking the completion of the South Fork Wind Farm, a 12-turbine project built off the Rhode Island coast and connected to the Long Island energy system.

“This will serve as a beacon to the rest of the nation, a statement of what is possible,” Hochul said at the event at Stony Brook University’s Southampton campus on Long Island.

Read the full article at The Providence Journal

South Fork Wind’s 12 turbines completed

March 15, 2024 — The last of 12 turbines in the South Fork Wind project 35 miles east of Montauk, N.Y., were completed March 14.

South Fork Wind, an array of 12 turbines 35 miles east of Montauk, N.Y., became the first fully operational offshore wind energy project in U.S. federal waters on March 14. This milestone for the U.S. industry was one of its earliest and most bitterly fought projects.

With a maximum nameplate rating of 132 megawatts, South Fork Wind was first approved by the Long Island Power Authority in 2017. Partners Ørsted and Eversource began construction in February 2022, and completion was announced Thursday.

“When I broke ground on the South Fork project, I made a promise to build a cleaner, greener future for all New Yorkers,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. With more projects in the pipeline, this is just the beginning of New York’s offshore wind future, and I look forward to continued partnership with the Biden Administration and local leaders to build a clean and resilient energy grid.”

The Hochul administration aims to have 9 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035 and recently announced two new project awards, Empire Wind I, and Sunrise Wind, for over 1,730 MW.

Read the full article at Workboat

NEW YORK: New York Completes First Utility-Scale Offshore Wind Farm in the U.S.

March 15, 2024 — Elected officials in New York State joined with industry leaders and Ørsted and its partners to mark the completed construction of South Fork Wind. The 132 MW project is considered to be the United States’ first commercial-scale offshore wind farm. The offshore work was completed in approximately nine months with 12 turbines and is being hailed as a symbol of what is going to be coming to the U.S. clean energy industry.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate the completion of the South Fork project,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. “Today is further proof that America’s clean energy transition is not a dream for a distant future – it’s happening right here and now.”

With all 12 of South Fork Wind’s turbines installed, the wind farm is delivering power to the local Long Island electric grid while commissioning is in its final stage. At full capacity, the wind farm, which is located roughly 35 miles off the coast of Montauk at the eastern tip of Long Island will generate enough renewable energy to power approximately 70,000 homes and will eliminate up to six million tons of carbon emissions over the 20-year life of the project.?

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive