About Us

We are a broad membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and fishing companies committed to improving the compatibility of new offshore development with their businesses.

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance

GET TO KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT RODA DOES FOR YOU!

Perhaps no time has more importance for US commercial fishermen than right now. Working with the administration is an opportunity to create lasting change that requires active engagement. RODA has built a strong national network of fishermen, fishing associations, and shoreside processing businesses united in protecting the fishing industry, our communities, and the ocean where you work.

Since 2018, RODA has led the way representing the commercial fishing industry in the face of ANY development on the Outer Continental Shelf. We provide a strong and unified voice representing all members of the commercial fishing industry in preserving your fishing grounds, and access to them.

How we accomplish our goals happens in a variety of ways, as outlined below.

We create opportunities for industry participation to improve scientific research

Research will support fishermen as present and future uses of the Outer Continental Shelf are brought to fruition. (See more on our Research Program page.)

We put a face on fishermen in the media

RODA's board and members have been quoted in every major newspaper, magazine, and media outlet in the US, with some even being featured in the EU. We are the go-to national fishermen's group on offshore development. We want to share your experience, collaborate, strategize, and strengthen our collective voice.

We walk the halls of Congress

RODA's voice is national. We meet with Congressional members, Senate and House staffers, and committees. In addition, we interact with all applicable federal agencies to ensure fishing industry concerns are known.

We write comment letters so you don't have to!

We document your needs as fishermen, fishing communities, and shoreside businesses on the record. RODA has written more than 150 federal and state requests for comments since 2018, representing commercial fishermen from every state, region, and coastline.

RODA represents you, your fisheries, and your knowledge of the ocean

Your thoughts transcribed into words has raised the profile of commercial fishing and shifted public opinion of the impacts of industrial development of the ocean. It is no longer a secret how the fishing industry and coastal communities are deeply committed to protecting the ocean.

We bring local waterfront and port communities together

We introduce RODA members affected by offshore wind farms in their region.

We fight for fishermen in court

In 2022, RODA was the first national fishing association to challenge the approval of Vineyard Wind, the first offshore wind project in federal waters. Our continuing lawsuit was shot down in December 2024 by the District Court of Appeals. We are now looking at Supreme Court options. RODA's legal efforts continued this year as joint plaintiffs challenging the approval of the South Fork and Revolution Wind farms on Cox's Ledge, despite the acknowledgement of serious, irreversible harm, and without adequate environmental impact studies.

We collaborate with federal agencies and others on your behalf

RODA's is committed to collaborating with relevant regulatory agencies (e.g., National Marine Fisheries Service, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Coast Guard, fishery management councils, and state agencies), offshore developers, science experts, and others to coordinate science and policy approaches to managing development of the Outer Continental Shelf in a way that minimizes conflicts with existing traditional and historical fishing.

YOU are the key to making progress

Progress will not happen without sustained, active engagement and support from all fishing industry members. Help us make 2025 the year of the commercial fishermen and the fishing industry. JOIN US TODAY.

Background

On March 25, 2019 RODA executed a ten-year Memorandum of Understanding with the National Marine Fisheries Service and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to collaborate on the science and process of offshore wind energy development on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. RODA will use this MoU to work with both agencies and more broadly to ensure that local and regional fishing interests are involved early and often throughout offshore wind development processes, and that the interests and concerns of commercial fishermen are communicated as effectively as possible.

RODA formed in June of 2018 in response to an Executive Order (EO) revising the National Ocean Policy calls for increasing ocean-related collaboration and modernizing science, while highlighting the importance of fisheries resources to food security and the national economy. The goals established at RODA’s formation are as follows:

Provide a unified voice regarding issues of mutual interest to the commercial fishing industry, related to the siting and operations of new and proposed offshore developments, in order to promote seafood sustainability;
Act as a bridge between developers and fishermen to mandate, design, and implement a fair, equitable, and effective fisheries mitigation framework addressing potential direct and indirect fisheries impacts;
Coordinate among existing local, project-specific, and state advisory groups to streamline advice and minimize duplication of effort, and increase awareness of the need for improved interagency coordination on matters related to ocean planning and development;
Work to achieve adequate funding for scientific research to inform leasing processes, support mitigation programs, and guide future offshore development planning; and
Serve as clearinghouse of scientific information and project updates for a better-informed industry and to communicate with Fishery Management Councils regarding industry needs and concerns.

CONTACT US

info@RODAfisheries.org