RODA Statement on the NY Bight Offshore Wind Energy Auction
The current process for leasing and permitting offshore wind development projects remains rushed and does not protect existing ocean users and resources. This week the government has rushed to auction off over 485,000 acres of the New York Bight and recommended over 2000 square miles of additional call areas off the Oregon coast, though it still has yet to develop a planned, holistic approach to impact reduction and mitigation or reasonable consideration of seafood production.
Little has been done to resolve the great scientific, environmental, and economic uncertainties of offshore wind, despite the fishing industry reasonably requesting such action for over a decade. We have repeatedly called for a programmatic environmental analysis for each region before offshore wind decisions are made and the conservation community is beginning to echo our questions about the cumulative ecological impacts of large-scale ocean habitat conversion. The varying degree of conflicts with fish and marine mammals in certain lease areas are not reflected in the auction prices that were bid, which is a clear result of glaringly inadequate policies to protect the marine environment.
Equitable strategies for climate action must directly involve impacted communities to achieve enduring solutions. Instead, investment banks and goliath energy corporations are teaming up, fueled by taxpayer-funded credits, to acquire public lands for private use – an activity that would be highly regulated in any other sphere. The astronomic prices and huge geographic areas demonstrate the need for strong oversight and transparency on matters of environment, health, safety, and social justice. Significant work stands before us to establish such policies for offshore wind.
We must work collectively toward developing a better future. We encourage lease holders to constructively engage with the fishing industry, listen authentically to impacted communities, and consider regional level impacts when determining next steps. These corporations must be willing to take a flexible approach to mitigation based on the financial commitments they are willing to invest in a paper lease. The lease siting did not avoid impacts, so a willingness to spend billions of dollars on leases must entail an equal commitment to minimize and mitigate the environmental and socioeconomic impacts to small business owners.
Date Published: Friday, February 25, 2022
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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.