(Abdul–Rahman Oladimeji Bello, Headline USA) The executive directors of a federally-established fishery councils along the East Coast expressed alarming concern to the Biden administration last year over the threats posed by the regime’s radical green energy agenda, specifically offshore wind energy projects.
“As we have stated in several past comment letters to BOEM, we are very concerned about the cumulative impacts of multiple wind energy projects on the fisheries we manage,” officials with the New England, Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils wrote to Biden’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, according to Fox News.
“The multiple wind energy projects planned along the east coast will have cumulative and compounding effects on our fisheries,” they wrote. “The synergistic effects of multiple projects may be more than additive and this may not be sufficiently identified in project-specific documents; therefore, losses may be undercompensated by taking a project-by-project approach.”
Similarly, the Pacific Fishery Management Council, representing the entire West Coast, also wrote a letter to BOEM. The council noted that every proposed area for multiple projects could negatively impact the entire marine ecosystem.
The report by Fox News also noted that these letters come after proposed guidance by BOEM in June to ensure offshore renewable energy development. However, the regional fishery management councils criticized the draft guidance.
Seafood Harvesters of America, a national organization representing thousands of fishermen nationwide, also wrote a letter to BOEM.
“We recognize the need for renewable energy and the role these energy sources will play as we work to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. However, addressing climate change should not require significant negative impacts to food producers or to our ocean environment,” the organization wrote.
“We remain deeply concerned that these guidelines are simply recommendations and hold no promise of any actual mitigation or compensation for the fishing industry,” they continued. “Any potential effectiveness of these guidelines is negated by the fact that they are only suggestions for offshore wind energy developers, rather than binding requirements.”
The battering criticism of Biden’s wind projects isn’t a first.
The Department of Defense has sounded alarms about the administration’s plans for wind projects, citing potential conflicts of wind turbines off the Atlantic Coast. The DoD called the wind lease areas proximity to nearby military operations and facilities, including a bombing range used to train fighter jet crews, “highly problematic.”
