0
All Posts By

lanejohnston

Responsible Offshore Development Association to BOEM: Don’t Forget Fishermen in the Rush To Expand Wind Energy

By News, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date Published: Wednesday, April 7, 2021

 

Washington, D.C. — On April 6th, 1665 members of fishing communities in every U.S. coastal state submitted a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) requesting a transparent and balanced national planning process for offshore wind development. 

Offshore wind development poses direct conflicts with fishing and the current permitting process provides no meaningful opportunity to include the needs of sustainable seafood harvesting and production in strategies to mitigate climate change. Recent interagency announcements to fast-track offshore wind energy production have provided no commitments to address this transgression of the federal government’s public trust duties. 

On the eve of the expected Record of Decision for the Vineyard Wind I project, which would be the first commercial-scale offshore wind energy project in U.S. federal waters, the signers request that BOEM adopt reasonable and consistently requested fisheries mitigation measures for the project if it is approved.

The letter’s signers hail from every U.S. coastal state and depend on some of the most prominent fishing companies and associations in the country or are directly connected to the seafood supply chain. Collectively they are affiliated with businesses and organizations of nearly 60,000 employees and members from vertically integrated seafood companies, individual commercial vessels, hotels, restaurants, mayors, churches, wholesalers, processors, the recreational and sportfishing sector, vessel services, shoreside services, scientists, next-generation fishermen, cooperatives, community-supported markets, buoy makers and boat welders. 

These include, among many others:

National/Multiple Regions

  • Seafood Harvesters of America, Fisheries Survival Fund, Chef’s Warehouse

New England

Rhode Island: Seafreeze Ltd, Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association, Kingston Trawlers, Salt Pond Fisheries, Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island, The Town Dock, Sea Fresh USA, V Northeast Fishery Sector, RI Party and Charter Boat Association, Frances Fleet, Seaside Fuel, Sakonnet Point Fisheries, RiverCenter Marine, RI Lobstermen’s Association, Kingston Trawlers, Nordic Fisheries, Northern Pelagic Group (Norpel), Hansen Scalloping, Cape Seafoods, North Atlantic Pacific Seafood, Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, II Northeast Fishery Sector, V Northeast Fishery Sector, XI Northeast Fishery Sector, Gloucester Fisheries Commission, Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association, BASE, Kathryn Marie Scalloping Company; Buckeye Scalloping Company, Hunter Scalloping Company; Ligia Pereira Scalloping Company, Foley Fish, Eastern Fisheries, Blue Harvest Fisheries, Northeast Seafood Coalition, Dockside Repairs, Quinn Fisheries, Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, Canastra Fishing, Courageous Fishing Corp., Eagle Eye Fishing Corp., SAI Fisheries, Empire Fisheries, Maine Lobstermen’s Association, Associated Fisheries of Maine, Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, Downeast Lobstermen’s Association, Maine Lobstering Union, O’Hara Corp., Bar Harbor Foods, Port Clyde Fresh Catch, Weskeag Fisheries, New Hampshire Commercial Fishermen’s Association, Fishing Partnership Support Services, BroadBill Fishing, Double Diamond Fishing Corp., Fox Seafood, Big Game Sportfishing, Cockeast Fisheries, Solveig’s, Eastern New England Scallop Association, A.G.V. Company, RI Saltwater Anglers Association, Keyfloater96, Superior Trawl

Mid-Atlantic

  • Lund’s Fisheries, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, Virginia Waterman’s Association, Silver Dollar Seafood, Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Viking Village, Garden State Seafood Association, Surfside Foods, La Monica Fine Foods, Sea Watch International, Barnegat Light Taxpayers’ Association, Hooked Up Marketplace, TMT Clams, Wanchese Fish Company, Seaford Scallop Company, Mike’s Seafood, Oceanside Marine, B&C Seafood, Sea Devil Fishing Co., Lilly Rose Fisheries, Barbara Joan Fisheries, Skilligalee Seafood, Yannis Karavia, Greenport Seafood Dock

West Coast & Alaska

  • Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, California Wetfish Producers Association, Southern Cal Seafood, SunCoast Calamari, Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization, Arctic Storm, Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Marketing Association, Shrimp Producers Marketing Cooperative, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, Fishermen’s Association of Moss Landing, West Coast Seafood Processors Association, Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association, Oregon Trawl Commission, Santa Cruz Commercial Fishermen’s Association, Westport Seafood, Midwater Trawlers Cooperative, San Francisco Community Fishing Association, United Catcher Boats Association, Ocean Gold Seafood, Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative, American Albacore Fishing Association, Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, Pacific Seafood, Bornstein Seafoods, Englund Marine and Industrial Supply, Seafood Producers Cooperative, Newport Landing Sportfishing, San Francisco Crab Boat Owners’ Association, Marina Del Rey Sportfishing Western Fishboat Owners Association, Winter Hawk Fisheries, Da Yang Seafood, Maranatha Fisheries, Del Mar Seafoods

South Atlantic & Gulf of Mexico

  • Capt. Anderson’s Marina, Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant, Hulls Seafood, Key Largo Fisheries, Half Hitch Tackle, Wild Ocean Market, Duckworth Steel Boats, Aylesworth’s Fish & Bait, Long Shot Charters, Panama City Boatmen Association; Southern Offshore Fishing Association, National Association of Charterboat Operators, Triar Seafood Co, Southeastern Fisheries Assn, Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, Cap’n Blacks Bait & Seafood 
View Signatures

###

 

About Responsible Offshore Development Alliance

Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) is a broad membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and fishing companies — across the United States — committed to improving the compatibility of new offshore development with their businesses. The alliance works to directly collaborate with relevant regulatory agencies, scientists, 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.

 

Connect with RODA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

 

Contact:

Haley Steinhauser

Haley@espadvisor.com

+1(562)991-3170

April 7, 2021
Love0

Responsible Offshore Development Alliance: Fishermen Ignored In Rush to Expand Offshore Wind

By News, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date Published: March 29, 2021

 

Washington, D.C. — Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), a broad membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and fishing companies, today announced its response to the Biden Administration’s new offshore wind power expansion.

Today’s interagency announcement again advanced cliched language about “unlocking potential” and committed billions of taxpayer dollars to capital loans, subsidies, and technological research for just one strategy to address climate change that has many known environmental and societal impacts. In doing so, it holds no fidelity to President Biden’s January 27th Memorandum on restoring trust in the government through scientific integrity and evidence-based policymaking. The Biden administration, after committing to inclusivity and complaining about the lack of transparency from the previous administration, introduced a process that includes few specifics to address the well-documented, serious environmental and socioeconomic concerns of offshore wind and does not take into account the needs of the communities involved.

Offshore wind energy development poses an enormous risk to the marine environment and sustainable U.S. seafood production. The Biden Administration’s disappointing fervor over its advancement continues an ineffective approach toward addressing climate change begun by previous administrations without demonstrating any willingness to include fisheries, ecosystem science, or our coastal communities in climate solutions.

The Administration promised over $4 billion for offshore wind development, with a paltry $1 million to help Northeast coastal communities “improve understanding of offshore renewable energy” through NOAA’s Sea Grant program. Funding for science to truly understand the ecological and economic impacts of offshore wind is something all coastal communities desperately need, but a one-time, $1 million grant in only one region of the country is an ineffective attempt to pay lip service to the coastal communities that will experience significant impacts from the industrialization of their shorelines for decades to come. This concession ignores the needs and economic realities of fishing communities, especially those outside of the Northeast, leaving them without a seat at the table where decisions about our exclusive economic zone are being made. As fisheries experts have long understood, fishermen’s knowledge is a key contributor to effective science-based management of ocean resources and ecosystems and should be utilized as an asset, not a hurdle to marginalize.

Fisheries resources, jobs, seafood, and NOAA’s scientific mandate hang in the balance. The commercial seafood sector provides over $46 billion in annual sales, income, and value added to the New England and the Mid-Atlantic economy (data calculated by National Marine Fisheries Service), to which poorly planned offshore industrialization imposes severe risk. Offshore wind also directly interferes with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s statutory mandate to assess and manage fish stocks and marine mammals. Key questions remain with regard to maritime safety, coastal environmental justice populations (the majority of which are employed in the fishing sector in many states), and long-term community resiliency once the oft-touted wind construction jobs come and go—if they come in the U.S. at all. These topics are not new, and for the Administration to completely ignore them in such an ambitious, if unrealistic, announcement as the one today is both irresponsible and indefensible.

RODA has worked with members of this Administration in the past, and has Memorandums of Understanding with NMFS and BOEM that explicitly recognize the need for better coordination with fishing communities and fisheries science experts. We have provided specific actionable requests with no response. In fact, the Administration has barely reached out to fishing communities or science experts at all, although they’ve had near-constant contact with foreign wind developers. We had hoped the goodwill we’ve shown would carry through to provide greater context, utility, and recognition as they push forward these policies. 

Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said today, “At the center of everything we do will be science, data, transparency and open coordination and collaboration with partners in states, industry, and labor. I hope you see we’re going to coordinate early and often.” Unfortunately, it seems this Administration does not include fishing experts among their chosen collaborators. We are disappointed in today’s announcement and hope that President Biden and his Cabinet will prioritize policies that are co-developed with fishermen and other coastal industry leaders in the future. 

If you’d like to join the conversation and share your specific requests with the administration, you can sign RODA’s petition today.

 

###

 

About Responsible Offshore Development Alliance

Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) is a broad membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and fishing companies — across the United States — committed to improving the compatibility of new offshore development with their businesses. The alliance works to directly collaborate with relevant regulatory agencies, scientists, 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.

 

Connect with RODA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

 

Contact:

Haley Steinhauser

Haley@espadvisor.com

+1(562)991-3170

March 29, 2021
Love0

The American Albacore Fishing Association & Responsible Offshore Development Alliance Respond to Seaspiracy

By News, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date Published: March 25, 2021

 

Washington, D.C. — The American Albacore Fishing Association (AAFA), a non-profit marketing organization representing commercial pole & line, troll fishing vessels, and the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), a broad membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and fishing companies, announce today their response to the Netflix film, Seaspiracy.

“U.S. fishermen have been sustainably harvesting our fisheries resources for generations,” says Tim Thomas, AAFA board president and life-long fisherman out of Garibaldi, Oregon. “We work within the robust national standards of the Magnuson Stevens Act, which requires by law that overfishing must end immediately if it occurs and has accountability measures to ensure bycatch is avoided. Commercial fishermen rely on a healthy ocean for their livelihoods and want to see their sons, daughters, and grandchildren fishing in the future.”

AAFA represents a traditional, multi-generational fishery of U.S. fishermen harvesting albacore tuna with the pole & line and troll methods. These American small businesses catch fish one at a time using one of the most sustainable, environmentally conscious tuna harvest methods in the world that has full traceability back to the harvest vessel. Albacore tuna, like 93 percent of U.S. fishery stocks, is not subject to overfishing.

In 2018 alone, U.S. fishermen added $5.6 billion to the economy and supported over a million jobs. IUU fishing harms responsible U.S. fishermen and the communities they support by undercutting their products with cheaper seafood from abroad. There are many ways governments, fishermen, and the public can work globally to stop illegal fishing, but removing seafood from diets is not the solution – for the environment or for public health. The recently published 2020 – 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans found that almost 90 percent of Americans consume less than the recommended amount of seafood.

“American seafood provides one of the most sustainable sources of animal protein in the world, supports healthy coastal communities, and delivers critical nutrition to a growing global population,” says Annie Hawkins, Executive Director of RODA.
“Advocating that people stop eating seafood because criminals exploit the system is like advocating to ban the internet because criminals use it as a black market. We need to significantly grow our global effort to stop illegal fishing, but we can’t punish the U.S. fishing industry for criminal or poorly regulated industries abroad.”

U.S. fishermen are the backbone of our coastal economies. Supporting the American seafood industry ensures strong communities, healthy ecosystems, and reliable food security for generations to come. To fight illegal fishing, keep enjoying responsibly harvested American seafood. To join AAFA and RODA in this conversation, share your thoughts across social media
using the hashtag #ProtectUSFishermen.

###

About American Albacore Fishing Association:
The American Albacore Fishing Association (AAFA) is a non-profit organization representing commercial pole & line, and troll vessels. AAFA seeks to ensure responsible fishery management practices and the participation of vital fishing communities. It supports education regarding responsible fishing methods and promotes the health benefits of tuna consumption along with environmental benefits of sustainable fishery practices. AAFA strives to ensure the economic viability of pole & line troll fisheries now and into the future.

Connect with AAFA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

About Responsible Offshore Development Alliance:
Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) is a broad membership-based coalition of fishing industry associations and fishing companies — across the United States — committed to improving the compatibility of new offshore development with their businesses. The alliance works 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), scientists, 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.

Connect with RODA on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Contact:
Haley Steinhauser
Haley@espadvisor.com
+1(562)991-3170

March 25, 2021
Love0