Windy Cod

[XCR1250]

US Ignored Own Scientists' Warning in Backing Atlantic Wind Farm

 

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US Ignored Own Scientists' Warning in Backing Atlantic Wind Farm

Jennifer A Dlouhy

Thu, December 29, 2022 at 11:00 AM CST

 

 

(Bloomberg) -- US government scientists warned federal regulators the South Fork offshore wind farm near the Rhode Island coast threatened the Southern New England Cod, a species so ingrained in regional lore that a wooden carving of it hangs in the Massachusetts state house.

 

The Interior Department approved the project anyway.

The warnings were delivered in unpublished correspondence weeks before Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management authorized the 12-turbine South Fork plan in November 2021. And they serve to underscore the potential ecological consequences and environmental tradeoff of a coming offshore wind boom along the US East Coast. President Joe Biden wants the US to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by the end of the decade.

The nascent US industry is already facing mounting challenges from supply-chain struggles and surging costs, including interest rates, prompting the developers behind a separate project near Massachusetts to seek a delay in planning for the venture.

Ecological challenges represent another headwind for offshore wind. Although conservationists argue that building more emission-free renewable power is critical to combat climate change and bolster dwindling ocean species threatened by warming oceans, the short-term impacts on marine life can be significant.

Marine scientists have warned that projects along the New England coast could imperil endangered North Atlantic right whales. And in August, the New England Fishery Management Council identified Atlantic waters already leased for offshore wind development as a “habitat area of particular concern,” a designation that encourages the government take a more stringent and cautious approach to permitting.

Concerns about South Fork, the 132-megawatt project being developed by Orsted AS and Eversource Energy, focused on its overlap with Cox Ledge, a major spawning ground for cod and “sensitive ecological area that provides valuable habitat for a number of federally managed fish species,” a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration assistant regional administrator said in an October 2021 letter to Interior Department officials. Based on in-house expertise and peer-reviewed science, the agency said “this project has a high risk of population-level impacts on Southern New England Atlantic cod.”

The Southern New England Atlantic cod’s populations have declined amid overfishing and warming ocean waters, prompting conservationists to seek bans on commercial and recreational fishing of the iconic species.

“Our cod stocks are not in great shape,” bemoaned Tom Nies, executive director of the New England Fishery Management Council. “We’ve been struggling to rebuild our cod stocks for some time, but they’re still not producing like they should.”

The Interior Department took some steps to blunt impacts on Atlantic cod, including by carving out some areas of Cox Ledge from leasing. Developers, who are required to monitor cod activity at the site from November through the end of March, plan to adjust work plans to avoid any spotted spawning areas. And the final South Fork plan was scaled down from 15 turbines to 12 after warnings from NOAA.

Still, the oceanic agency faulted the Interior Department for shrugging off other recommendations to protect cod, saying the bureau had based some decisions on flawed assumptions not supported by science. That includes a decision to not block pile driving at the very start of the spawning season in November, even though NOAA said the noise could deter the activity and force some cod to abandon the area.

An Orsted spokesperson declined to comment, and representatives of Eversource did not comment on the matter.

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management representatives did not specifically comment on the final warnings from NOAA. However, more comprehensive mitigation efforts are underway. In an emailed statement, the bureau stressed it was using spatial modeling to guide its leasing decisions in the Gulf of Mexico, central Atlantic and waters near Oregon. BOEM is also reviewing public feedback on its proposed blueprint for limiting offshore wind’s impact on fishing through better project siting and design, as well as financial compensation.

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[steve from amherst]

Marine scientists have warned that projects along the New England coast could imperil endangered North Atlantic right whales.

 

Strange , they bust lobster fishermans balls over NARW

They bust boaters balls over NARW , but not wind

[BOHICA]

1 hour ago, XCR1250 said:

“Our cod stocks are not in great shape,” bemoaned Tom Nies, executive director of the New England Fishery Management Council. “We’ve been struggling to rebuild our cod stocks for some time, but they’re still not producing like they should.”

 

No wind farms and the cod population declining….

 

hmmm.  Wonder what is causing the decline in all these managed fishery.  Kind of weird that another fishery on different oceans are experience declines that are threatening the fisheries like the Bering sea crab fishery and now the Atlantic cod fishery.

ocean temps probably heating up making them uninhabitable.

[Kivalo]

All these dangers to the fisheries and the only example they provide is pile driving in November?

Something smells kinda fishy here. 

[ActionfigureJoe]

10 minutes ago, BOHICA said:

 

No wind farms and the cod population declining….

 

hmmm.  Wonder what is causing the decline in all these managed fishery.  Kind of weird that another fishery on different oceans are experience declines that are threatening the fisheries like the Bering sea crab fishery and now the Atlantic cod fishery.

ocean temps probably heating up making them uninhabitable.

Over Christmas the family had a king crab boil out on the lake. Absolutely delicious. Cost a small fortune for 20 pounds of crab. 

[BOHICA]

Just now, ActionfigureJoe said:

Over Christmas the family had a king crab boil out on the lake. Absolutely delicious. Cost a small fortune for 20 pounds of crab. 

Supposedly Alaska crab fishery is shut down for a couple years now.  The crab population they say has been decimated the last few years.  So I’m sure crab is a fortune as it is so limited.

 

now the Atlantic cod from fishery is declining.

 

something strange is going on with the oceans.

[Kivalo]

Just now, BOHICA said:

Supposedly Alaska crab fishery is shut down for a couple years now.  The crab population they say has been decimated the last few years.  So I’m sure crab is a fortune as it is so limited.

 

now the Atlantic cod from fishery is declining.

 

something strange is going on with the oceans.

Two years in a row they closed the Alaska Crab fisheries. Thats gotta hurt financially!

[ActionfigureJoe]

Just now, BOHICA said:

Supposedly Alaska crab fishery is shut down for a couple years now.  The crab population they say has been decimated the last few years.  So I’m sure crab is a fortune as it is so limited.

 

now the Atlantic cod from fishery is declining.

 

something strange is going on with the oceans.

Could be looking at the beginning of a  collapse of the ocean’s food chain. Or maybe it’s just a weird fluke. It doesn’t seem like anyone knows for sure. 

[Guest]

Ocean's must have warmed up a long time ago.

 

2 July 1992

 

On 2 July 1992, the Canadian government imposed a moratorium on the Northern cod fishery along the country's east coast. Decades of over-fishing had severely depleted cod stocks and government officials hoped the moratorium would allow the species to rebuild.

[BOHICA]

6 minutes ago, ActionfigureJoe said:

Could be looking at the beginning of a  collapse of the ocean’s food chain. Or maybe it’s just a weird fluke. It doesn’t seem like anyone knows for sure. 

The Bering sea fishery collapse I could see as a fluke if it was a one off collapse.  But reading the OP and the collapsing Atlantic cod fishery does create a concern that any reasonable person would not consider just a fluke.  2 oceans, thousands of miles, apart and simultaneously collapsing fisheries is a little fishy…

[BOHICA]

2 minutes ago, HSR said:

Ocean's must have warmed up a long time ago.

 

2 July 1992

 

On 2 July 1992, the Canadian government imposed a moratorium on the Northern cod fishery along the country's east coast. Decades of over-fishing had severely depleted cod stocks and government officials hoped the moratorium would allow the species to rebuild.

Crazy in over 30 years of moratorium the fish didn’t come back….

[soeaster]

24 minutes ago, ActionfigureJoe said:

Over Christmas the family had a king crab boil out on the lake. Absolutely delicious. Cost a small fortune for 20 pounds of crab. 

Local meat market has it for $65/lb... We have it once a year, and it's tempting now just because we love it, but we'll stick with beef for the new year.

[Mainecat]

17 minutes ago, HSR said:

Ocean's must have warmed up a long time ago.

 

2 July 1992

 

On 2 July 1992, the Canadian government imposed a moratorium on the Northern cod fishery along the country's east coast. Decades of over-fishing had severely depleted cod stocks and government officials hoped the moratorium would allow the species to rebuild.

Yup cod stocks have been low for decades. Nothing new. I remember in the 70’s surf fishing our arms got sore from catching so many we quit after an hour with over 20 lbs each.

So yeah low cod stocks are not new in New England.

[BOHICA]

As these fisheries collapse as a result of climate change they become a big burden of subsidies to fund these people who no longer work.  We are going to see more and more funding given to industries as a result of climate change.  Going to get spendy for net tax payer or federal debt increase if that is how the politician plan to funded these casualties of climate change.

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2022/12/16/federal-government-declares-disasters-for-alaska-fisheries/

Edited December 29, 2022 by BOHICA

[XCR1250]

Yup, climate has been warming up since the last Ice Age.