Page 7 - ARUBA TODAY

U.S. NEWS A7
American Living:
Winds of worry: US fishermen fear forests of power turbines
By PHILIP MARCELO
Associated Press
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP)
— East Coast fishermen are
turning a wary eye toward
an emerging upstart: the
offshore wind industry.
In New Bedford, Massachu-
setts, the onetime whaling
capital made famous in
Herman Melville’s “Moby-
Dick,” fishermen dread
the possibility of navigat-
ing a forest of turbines as
they make their way to the
fishing grounds that have
made it the nation’s most
lucrative fishing port for 17
years running.
The state envisions hun-
dreds of wind turbines spin-
ning off the city’s shores in
about a decade, enough
to power more than 1 mil-
lion homes.
“You ever see a radar pic-
ture of a wind farm? It’s just
one big blob, basically,”
said Eric Hansen, 56, a New
Bedford scallop boat own-
er whose family has been
in the business for genera-
tions. “Transit through it will terminal to take on turbine
be next to impossible, es-
pecially in heavy wind and
fog.”
Off New York’s Long Island,
an organization represent-
ing East Coast scallopers
has sued the Bureau of
Ocean Energy Manage-
ment to try to halt a pro-
posal for a nearly 200-tur-
bine wind farm. Commer-
cial fishermen in Maryland’s
Ocean City and North Car-
olina’s Outer Banks have
also sounded the alarm
about losing access to fish-
ing grounds.
Supporters of offshore wind
say they have learned from
Europe’s long experience
with it. They also point to
Thursday 28 December 2017
the more recent opening “There’s a lot more in com- fishermen’s concerns, struction.
But while there haven’t
of America’s lone offshore mon between these in- among them excluding been reports of fishing
boats striking the turbines,
wind farm, off Rhode Island, dustries than pulling them specific habitats off Massa- about a dozen boats have
reported trawls getting
In this Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017 photo fishing vessels are docked in New Bedford Harbor, in New damaged by concrete
Bedford, Mass. Fishermen in the nation’s most lucrative port are turning a wary eye toward an structures covering under-
emerging upstart: the offshore wind industry. New Bedford fishermen say they’re concerned about sea power cables, costing
navigating a forest of turbines to get to their historical fishing grounds and getting trawling gear tens of thousands of dollars
caught up on transmission cables on the seafloor. in equipment and lost fish-
ing time, said Richard Fuka,
(AP Photo/Steven Senne) president of the Rhode Is-
land Fishermen’s Alliance.
as evidence the actual im- apart,” said Edward An- chusetts, Rhode Island and U.S. fishermen also cast a
pact to U.S. fishermen will thes-Washburn, executive New York from wind farm worried glance at to Eu-
be less than feared. director of New Bedford’s development, said spokes- rope, where a range of
“We want to do this the port, citing the potential for man Stephen Boutwell. restrictions have been im-
right way, and I believe we wind farms to provide fish- It has also invested in stud- posed on fishing around the
have a path to do that,” ermen with extra work and ies looking specifically at more than 3,500 turbines
said Matthew Morrissey, a to contribute to port invest- questions raised by fisher- spinning off the shores of 10
vice president at Deepwa- ments, like a new shipyard. men, from the effects of different countries. U.S. offi-
ter Wind, the Rhode Island For fishermen, the broader pile-driving during wind cials and developers stress
company that opened concern is that offshore farm construction to the similar bans aren’t being
that five-turbine operation wind farms will only lead to effect of electromagnetic considered stateside, ex-
off Block Island last Decem- more stifling restrictions. fields on fish behavior, he cept during construction.
ber and is proposing larger “Fishermen are losing said. Studies in the North Sea
farms elsewhere along the ground one a nibble at a Deepwater Wind, mean- suggest the turbines act as
East Coast. time,” said Joseph Gilbert, while, said preliminary find- reefs, supporting mussels
In New Bedford, where a Stonington, Connecticut ings from environmental that draw fish and other
the state has already built fisherman who owns boats studies of its Block Island sea life. But where advo-
a $113 million heavy-duty that range from Virginia to wind farm suggest fish and cates see biodiversity, com-
Maine. “Eventually, it adds lobster populations are mercial fishermen point to
construction and shipment, up to a very large piece of “just as strong” as before other studies noting mod-
city officials envision com- the pie.” construction. est effects on native spe-
mercial fishing and offshore The Bureau of Ocean En- The company says it has cies in Europe. In the U.K.,
wind working hand in hand ergy Management, which compensated over a doz- navigation through wind
to revive a region that has oversees wind farm devel- en fishermen who tempo- farms remains challenging
long lagged behind near- opments in federal waters, rarily lost access to their during bad weather, said
by Boston. has taken steps to address fishing grounds during con- Merlin Jackson, treasurer
of the Thanet Fishermen’s
Association. There have
been at least two minor
cases of fishing boats hit-
ting turbines, he said. Fisher-
men largely rely on turbine
platform lights as guides,
but they’re not always well
maintained. The most per-
sistent problem has been
sea currents exposing bur-
ied power cables, prompt-
ing restrictions while they’re
repaired, he said.q