Fishing Industry Responds to Offshore Wind Announcements

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA— On May 25 the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association released a statement opposing the federal and state government’s push to expedite the process of producing offshore wind energy off the California coast. The Biden-Harris administration released a statement on May 25 sharing that the Departments of the Interior and Defense along with the State of California had agreed to accelerate the production of wind energy on the central and northern parts of California’s coast, and in an answer, the PCFFA released their own statement that voiced concern over what has been perceived as a lack of answers and research into the clean energy method and the exclusion of the fishing industry in the decision-making process. “The Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) remains concerned about rushing unproven technology, with unknown impacts to our ocean ecosystem, in locations which were not identified with any meaningful input by the fishing industry,” said Mike Conroy, PCFFA’s executive director in the May 25 press release. “Floating wind turbines have not been deployed in the scale being considered off the California coast. Far too many questions remain unanswered regarding potential impacts to marine life which is dependent on a healthy ecosystem. For example, potential impacts to...