The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (9BOEM) has released a report that more or less admits that offshore wind farms pose a risk to marine ecosystems and that they are unavoidable.
Biological Impacts: Marine mammals, sea turtles, birds, and fish could suffer due to noise, habitat displacement, and changes in migration patterns. Even bats, which are not typically associated with offshore environments, could be affected.
Physical and Socioeconomic Impacts: The potential effects on water and air quality, commercial and recreational fishing, tourism, and scenic resources are all outlined. These sections make it clear that local economies and communities reliant on the ocean could experience significant disruptions.
Mitigation Measures are Not Enough: Although the report outlines numerous Avoidance, Minimization, Mitigation, and Monitoring (AMMM) measures, it also acknowledges that some impacts are “unavoidable”.
The final public hearing for the Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind Development project will be held on October 28th [4:30 pm – Room A. NHDES Pease Office. 221 International Drive. Suite 175 – Portsmouth, NH] before BOEM opens lease sales on the 29th
This admission by BOEM is not a call to stop development. It is, however, an acknowledgment of the risk to marine life, a threat documented by the record-breaking rise in the deaths of whales, dolphins, and porpoises that actually wash up on shore.
It won’t likely stop the sale, but it provides government-engineered fuel that affirms what Fisherm and others have been saying. We need to slow this down. Now more than ever.
Correction: Published with the incorrect Lease sale date. It is Oct 29, not Oct 30. The text has been updated.
