Offshore wind is considered one of the most promising forms of renewable energy to expand this decade. According to the nonprofit World Forum Offshore Wind, technological advancements, global government support, and cost reductions have allowed the industry to play a greater role in electricity generation. Offshore wind is currently most prevalent in Western Europe, but this source of energy production is rapidly growing in countries such as China and the United States.
In New York State, Governor Cuomo’s 2018 Offshore Wind Master Plan outlines steps for offshore wind development until 2030. A first-of-its-kind document in the United States, the plan delineated a study area known as the New York Bight Call Area for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the agency responsible for energy projects in federal water, to consider for future projects. BOEM has recommended several areas of interest (see map below), and the oil and gas company Equinor secured an approximately $3 billion lease next to the area for its Empire Wind project.
While the Offshore Wind Master Plan can help New York secure 2.4 gigawatts of carbon-free electricity by 2020 (enough to power 1.2 million homes), the projects could also potentially compete with other activities, such as fishing, vessel traffic, conservation, and ocean science research. In the NY-NJ Bight, scallopers are concerned about offshore wind projects negatively impacting fisheries. Examining the spatial proximity between the region’s scallop fishery and offshore wind industry highlights the need for wind development companies to take fishermen’s concerns more seriously, so that both parties can coexist successfully.
The NY-NJ Bight Call Area is valuable to the Atlantic sea scallop fishery, the largest wild scallop fishery in the world. In 2016, the scallop industry generated $486 million in landings revenue. As a point of comparison, the American lobster was the top species fished in 2016, with $667 million in landings revenue.
The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) and NOAA Fisheries have managed the resource under the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan since 1982. Sea scallops were declared overfished in 1997, but actions to limit the amount of vessels at sea, update fishing equipment, and periodically close off certain fishing areas led to the sustainable management of the resource. Every year, the NEFMC publishes “framework adjustments” to its plan. These frameworks delineate new areas for scallopers to fish in depending on the vessels’ permit. Some areas are closed off for research or to protect young scallops.
The proximity (and sometimes overlap) between rich scallop beds, scallop vessel activity, and the offshore wind proposal has provoked conflict between the two industries. In the NEFMC’s most recent framework submitted in March 2020 (Framework 32), a section discusses how offshore wind energy is expected to have a negative impact on scallop habitat and fishing activity in the future.
An article in City & State notes that in 2018, scallopers and supporting advocacy groups sued BOEM for having failed to evaluate alternative options for Equinor’s Empire Wind lease. While the Offshore Wind Master Plan requires wind developers to work with community, environmental and fishing groups, tensions between regional marine stakeholders persist.
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