Saving Seafood

Responsible Offshore Development Alliance Calls for Correction on Coast Guard Study; Cites โ€˜Seriousโ€™ Errors

July 1, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA):

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) has officially requested that the U.S. Coast Guard revise and correct its Massachusetts and Rhode Island Port Access Route Study (MARIPARS), citing โ€œserious foundational and analytical errors that merit correction.โ€ On June 29th, it filed a formal Request for Correction under the Information Quality Act in order to improve the objectivity and utility of the disseminated information.

The Coast Guard MARIPARS study examined current waterway uses in the areas off the coast of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, which are sites of proposed offshore wind energy development. Understanding these ocean use patterns is critical for successfully designing any offshore development, and for minimizing interactions between the proposed developments and existing activity.

Unfortunately, the Coast Guardโ€™s final report, issued on May 27th, contained several key errors, and the process โ€œfailed to address nearly all of the substantive comments from fisheries professionals.โ€ These include dozens of comments from vessel operators, fishing companies, and fishing associations, as well as independent experts including the New England Fishery Management Council, the New Bedford Port Authority, the Rhode Island Fisheries Advisory Board, and Dr. Thomas Sproul.

One key error involved the Coast Guardโ€™s reliance on โ€œinappropriate data sources.โ€ RODA previously warned the Coast Guard that most fishing vessels in Massachusetts and Rhode Island do not use Automatic Identification System (AIS) technology onboard, and that any analysis of fishing vessel activity and movement should not rely on AIS data. Despite this warning, the Coast Guard cited only AIS data in its study. Additionally, while the MARIPARS contains a list of nearly 900 contacts in its โ€œstakeholder outreachโ€ section, only two are active commercial fishermen โ€“ hardly sufficient to inform a study primarily focused on fishing vessels.

Despite drawing conclusions about the amount of space necessary to conduct fishing operations, the study similarly did not include important information on the nature of fishing activity in the region, including the spatial requirements of vessels and their gear, and the changes in vessel traffic patterns that are likely to result from wind turbine construction.

The studyโ€™s flaws were not limited to its analysis of fishing activity. The Coast Guard also failed to properly analyze a range of alternative spacing proposals for wind turbines that included dedicated transit lanes for fishing vessels. Rather than provide an analysis of the impacts transit lanes would have, the Coast Guard simply asserted โ€œproject developers have made clear that larger corridors โ€ฆ would result in reduced [turbine] spacing.โ€ RODA asserts in its appeal that the Coast Guard should have conducted a full, independent evaluation of this claim. Instead, โ€œit relied on developersโ€™ attestations that there are a predetermined number of turbines that will be placed in the wind energy areas,โ€ which is at odds with the public record and how the development process is supposed to work.

RODAโ€™s Request for Correction raises further issues, including unsubstantiated claims made by the Coast Guard about the nature of potential radar interference from wind turbines as well as simple calculation errors included in the study.

In light of these numerous errors, RODA considers the conclusions of the study โ€œwholly unsupported and unsubstantiated by the recordโ€ and is requesting that the Coast Guard address and correct these errors. It is specifically asking for relief in the form of: (1) revising the analysis using appropriate data and calculations; (2) clear documentation of the MARIPARSโ€™ limitations; (3) a formal, independent peer review; and (4) not using the MARIPARS as a basis for regulatory decisions pending these corrections.

Since the publication of the final MARIPARS, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Vineyard Wind I project to analyze cumulative impacts of offshore wind energy development off of New England. That document relies heavily on the MARIPARS in assessing the navigational safety impacts of the projectโ€™s preferred layout.

Read RODAโ€™s full Request for Correction here

RODA Nets $150,000 Grant from NMFS to Hold Symposium on Fisheries and Offshore Wind

June 11, 2020 โ€” The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) received a $150,000 grant from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to hold a symposium on current knowledge of fisheries and offshore wind interactions.

The first of its kind project, โ€œUnderstanding the State of the Science,โ€ will advance agency, fishing industry, offshore wind energy developer and public understanding of existing research on interactions between the two industries, RODA said.

Read the full story at Seafood News

RODA Receives NMFS Grant to Convene State of the Science Symposium on Fishing and Offshore Wind Interactions

June 10, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance:

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) has received a $150,000 grant from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to aggregate existing knowledge, then convene a first-of-its-kind symposium on the current science regarding fisheries and offshore wind interactions. The project, โ€œUnderstanding the State of the Science,โ€ will advance agency, fishing industry, offshore wind energy developer, and public understanding of existing research on interactions between the two industries.

โ€œWe are thrilled about the opportunity to design a forum that will bring together everything we know, and donโ€™t know, about how fisheries and offshore wind energy development interact,โ€ said Annie Hawkins, RODAโ€™s Executive Director. โ€œFishermen provide a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and many are involved in research and science efforts. This project is a great opportunity for their participation in informing a strong research and science agenda.โ€

The project consists of two parts. First, RODA will develop a much-needed summary of scientific knowledge and current research and monitoring efforts. Given the rapid growth and large scope of offshore wind development in the U.S., many fishing associations, academic institutions, federal and state agencies, offshore wind developers, and others have been conducting research on the effects of offshore wind development. This part of the project results in a new resource for understanding the knowledge gaps and most important questions for further research.

Second, RODA will convene a โ€œstate of the scienceโ€ symposium and workshop jointly with NMFS and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), as well as state, academic, and private and public sector science experts. At these meetings, participants will identify research and monitoring needs that the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance (ROSA) can use to develop its work.

ROSA is an independent organization that works collaboratively to advance regional research and monitoring of fisheries and offshore wind interactions in federal waters. It is intended to fill the need for broad-scale coordination on prioritizing work and on information sharing.

โ€œMuch of the work on offshore wind is occurring on a development-by-development, state-by-state basis. Yet the science and management of our fisheries, marine mammals, and marine endangered species occur at a regional-scale โ€“ North Carolina to Maine,โ€ said Jon Hare, director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. โ€œTherefore, I am excited to be able to work with RODA and BOEM to support the state-of-the-science symposium with the goal of developing a regional science plan.โ€

This project is a key step toward jointly building a regional fisheries and offshore science agenda. Participants in the project will include fishermen, fishing industry representatives, NMFS, BOEM, and ROSA experts, wind energy developers, relevant federal fishery management councils, states, and other expert scientists from the U.S. and Europe. The Consensus Building Institute will provide expert facilitation and coordination for the symposium. The intent is to reduce redundancies, identify knowledge gaps, and solidify opportunities for future increased coordination. Partners can then use workshop outcomes to collaborate further, refining regional science and monitoring agendas.

Examples of topics to be covered by the state of the science symposium include:

  • Physical oceanographic factors: the Mid-Atlantic Cold Pool, currents and vertical mixing, scour and sedimentation, marine winds, waves, coastal upwelling;
  • Ecosystem effects: larval dispersal, recruitment, spawning, electromagnetic fields, migration corridors, noise and vibrations, species shifts, invasive species and colonization, entanglement, benthic habitat disruption;
  • Fisheries: displacement of effort, displacement of species, increased competition for grounds, safety; and
  • Floating wind technology effects: specific effects of floating wind platforms on fishing effort and biological processes.

Funding for this project was made available through NMFSโ€™ Broad Agency Announcement award process, and advances a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in March 2019. This ten-year MOU among RODA, NMFS, and BOEM allows the groups to collaborate on the science, research, monitoring, and process of offshore wind energy development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. More broadly, the project will help local and regional fishing interests become better involved in the offshore wind development process, and ensure that the interests and concerns of commercial fishermen are communicated effectively.

Responsible Offshore Development Alliance Calls for Changes to โ€˜Broken and Ineffectiveโ€™ Wind Development Outreach

June 3, 2020 โ€” The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance:

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) is calling on state and federal regulators to extensively revise their approach to planning offshore wind development off of Oregon, calling the current system โ€œbroken and ineffectiveโ€ for preserving sustainable seafood production. The comments come in a public comment letter submitted by RODA on the engagement plan for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Managementโ€™s (BOEM) Oregon Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force.

In the letter, RODA calls for BOEM to develop a new planning and engagement model that brings fisheries stakeholders into the process early, with greater participation from fisheries members on task forces and greater opportunities for public input.

Task forces need to work with the industry identify potential impacts on fishing before any offshore leases are issued. Often input from the fishing industry is sought too late in the process, after leases have been awarded and sites selected.

โ€œFisheries participants and experts must be wholly integrated into every step of the planning process through true collaboration,โ€ the letter states.

Collaboration with the fishing industry is vital because of the many documented conflicts between fishing and wind energy development. These include potential environmental impacts on marine species and habitats; limiting fishing access; disruptions of scientific surveys; and interactions with protected species such as whales.

RODA is a membership-based coalition of fishing-related companies and associations committed to improving the compatibility of new offshore development with their businesses. RODAโ€™s approximately 170 members represent every Atlantic coastal state from North Carolina to Maine, and Pacific coast members in California, Oregon and Washington.

Read the letter here

Fishing industry group wants Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire offshore wind planning postponed during pandemic

April 29, 2020 โ€” A group representing the fishing industry has written to New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, Maine Gov. Janet Mills and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker asking for a six-month pause in planning Gulf of Maine (GOM) offshore wind development amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter from the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) seeks to ensure that fishermen have a say in the early stages of any proposed projects, RODA executive director Annie Hawkins told The Center Square.

โ€œThe idea behind the letter was the Gulf of Maine is at the beginning of planning for offshore wind. Given how important it is to fishermenโ€™s work routes and interactive site mapping, it has to be done when everyone can be at the table,โ€ Hawkins said. โ€œAnd right now, the fishing industry is dealing with their own things brought on by the pandemic.โ€

Hawkins said in other regions of offshore wind development, fishermen havenโ€™t had enough of a voice in the planning process because work commitments often preclude them from being at meetings.

โ€œWhat weโ€™re seeing in other regions, fishing interests are brought in late in the game,โ€ Hawkins said.

Read the full story at The Center Square

Fishing Industry Group Seeks Pause On Offshore Wind Planning During Pandemic

April 16, 2020 โ€” A fishing industry group wants New Hampshire and neighboring states to put off planning offshore wind development during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, or RODA, sent a letter to the governors of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts on Tuesday. The group represents the fishing industry in states with offshore wind development.

Among RODAโ€™s requests is a six-month halt on the federal planning process for putting wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine. Their letter raises concerns that efforts to fight COVID-19 will limit the publicโ€™s ability to weigh in on the process โ€“ especially for fishermen.

โ€œThe fishing industry has been hit especially hard by the pandemic,โ€ RODA says in a statement, โ€œforcing the commercial fishing sector to divert time and effort to addressing the current crisis, and leaving insufficient opportunities for engagement in offshore wind siting and other planning.โ€

Read the full story at New Hampshire Public Radio

Bringing fishing and wind communities together to site U.S. offshore wind projects

April 15, 2020 โ€”  

  

Issues like these are ones where fishermenโ€™s knowledge of the seas they have worked on their whole lives โ€“ and previous generations worked on before them โ€“ can be invaluable, both for maintaining their livelihoods as offshore wind farms are constructed in or around fishing grounds, and for helping developers make the best decisions for their wind businesses.

Read the full story from the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance at Windpower Engineering & Development

RODA request pause in offshore wind development amid COVID-19 pandemic

April 15, 2020 โ€” The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance โ€“ a lobbying group formed in January 2018 to represent the East Coast fishing industry in discussions over offshore wind energy development โ€“ has called for all a six-month pause in the regulatory process pertaining to offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The call for a delay came via a letter sent to governors of New England states, including Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Janet Mills of Maine, and Chris Sununu of New Hampshire. The letter was also sent to Walter Cruickshank, the acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The letter sites the importance of public participation in regulatory decisions, which is hampered by measures many states are taking to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Ocean Portal Could Be a Boon to Fishermen

April 14, 2020 โ€” After looking at the Northeast Ocean Data Portal, a major energy company wanted to propose a wind farm in the Gulf of Maine in an area where they saw no documented fishing activity.

The Portal pulls together huge amounts of information on every conceivable ocean use, from cultural resources to marine transportation to fishing activity. The fishing data is robust and includes information from dockside reports and vessel tracking systems.

But then they called Annie Hawkins, executive director of Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, RODA. She suspected the area was hugely important to the lobster industry and was certainly used โ€” a lot.

Current regulations donโ€™t require lobstermen to have vessel tracking systems. Where they fish isnโ€™t plugged into any standardized data collection, so it doesnโ€™t show up on the Portal.

โ€œThat could have gone in the very wrong direction,โ€ Hawkins said.

She is quick to add the portal does show an incredible amount, and has been useful in a number of instances.

But there are big gaps. When the portal was first being set up a decade or so ago, it was part of a larger โ€œocean planningโ€ process from which many fishermen felt excluded, said Hawkins. That led to fishermen not providing insight, and a lot of relevant information wasnโ€™t included.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Top 10 Takes from the 2020 Maine Fishermenโ€™s Forum

March 11, 2020 โ€” Industry innovations abound, from the Deckhand, a new product that makes it easier to log vessel trip data to Rugged Seas, a new bib-recycling venture that incorporates discarded bib scraps into a variety of rugged and well designed bags that work just as well on the trail as they do in your bunk belowdecks.

Simon Dick of Deckhand gets the farthest-traveled award for coming to Rockport from Australia, no doubt washing his hands all the way.

Fight the power: Fishing and offshore wind

Representatives from across the industry attended and hosted a full-day session on proposed offshore wind-power projects that are creeping both north and south from Southern New England.

Annie Hawkins, executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, and her board of directors advocate for the fishing industry on East Coast developments. They hope to offer their expertise in negotiating new federal permits that preserve access to fishing grounds.

Read the full story at National Fisherman