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.
Our approach is to directly collaborate 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.
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.
Background
Proposals for, and interest in, new development of the U.S. offshore environment are increasing at an extraordinary pace. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has leased 16 sites in New England and Mid-Atlantic for offshore wind energy facilities, with additional sites proposed in the Atlantic and Pacific. Further leasing is underway for sand and gravel extraction, offshore aquaculture, and other uses. Because these activities often directly conflict with traditional and historic fishing practices, decision processes could be significantly improved with regard to effectively engaging fishing communities and considering the needs of the commercial fishing industry. Permitting authorities must thoroughly consider advice from the industry, NMFS, state fishery management agencies, and the regional fishery management councils, and pay greater attention to the scientific research necessary to properly plan, site, operate, and mitigate such projects.
The June 2018 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. RODA formed in the same month with the following goals, which have direct relevance to the EO’s approach:
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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;
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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;
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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;
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Work to achieve adequate funding for scientific research to inform leasing processes, support mitigation programs, and guide future offshore development planning; and
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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.
Scientific Research and Monitoring
RODA works to increase collaborative research and monitoring in order to: (1) improve overall understanding regarding siting and operations of new offshore activities; (2) support mitigation requirements in terms of informing and minimizing impacts to users and resources, including the development of standardized mitigation frameworks; and (3) inform agency decision-making and industry engagement through existing consultative processes.
RODA is working to design and implement new models for persistent, long-term, holistic, and collaborative research programs that effectively gather and communicate fishery-dependent and -independent data and expertise. It is approaching this through two channels: facilitating grassroots, fishing industry-driven efforts to enhance fishermen’s ability to effectively bring their own expertise to the table, and—separately but relatedly—working in partnership with regulators and other ocean use proponents to ensure that fishermen are fully included in appropriate efforts to assess interactions between fisheries stocks and new ocean use and development.
To develop the best long-range solutions to offshore development, fishermen’s knowledge must be directly included in study identification, prioritization, design, and execution of well-coordinated scientific research at the proper geographic scales.