Marine Renewable Energy

 

25 Lawmakers Urge Feds To Jump-Start Offshore Wind Leasing. According to The East Hampton Star, “Twenty-five members of the New York and New Jersey delegations to the House of Representatives wrote to Amanda Lefton, the new director of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, on Friday to urge her to ‘jump-start the offshore wind leasing process’ by issuing final Wind Energy Areas and subsequent lease auctions in the New York Bight. New York and New Jersey ‘would see more high-paying jobs, new sources of tax revenue, and massive capital investments as a result of new leasing and subsequent offshore wind development and construction in the New York Bight,’ the representatives wrote, estimating that from 2025 to 2030, construction within the New York Bight could support 32,200 jobs a year, $3.3 billion in annual wages, and $183 million in annual state tax revenue. From 2022 to 2030, the Bight could attract $45.9 billion in total development and construction capital investment, they wrote. ‘This is just a slice of the total benefit from offshore wind development across the United States.’ But, ‘Before we can realize all the benefits of offshore wind, the federal government must provide new opportunities for developers to acquire commercial wind leases,’ the 24 Democrats and one Republican continued. The bureau has not held a lease sale in federal waters since 2018, and the last New York Bight lease sale occurred in 2016. Representatives Kathleen Rice of New York’s Fourth Congressional District and Bill Pascrell Jr. of New Jersey’s Ninth Congressional District led their respective delegations in writing to Ms. Lefton. Representative Lee Zeldin of New York’s First Congressional District did not sign the letter.” [The East Hampton Star, 2/18/21 (=)]

 

Offshore Wind Firm Atlantic Shores Signs Deal With Six Unions To Train And Hire New Jersey Workers. According to Offshore Engineer, “Offshore wind developer Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind - a U.S. joint venture between Shell and EDF, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with six unions operating in New Jersey as part of its bid submission, ‘committing to help develop and employ a productive, safe, well-trained local workforce.’ The company in December 2020 submitted its bid to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to supply the state with up to 2,300 MW of renewable wind energy. New Jersey seeks to award between 1,200 MW and 2,400 MW of offshore wind energy projects as part of its second solicitation. Regarding the agreement with the union announced on Thursday, Atlantic Shores said: ‘With this agreement, Atlantic Shores is solidifying its place at the forefront of not only the state’s burgeoning offshore wind industry but also as a creator of new, union workforce opportunities for decades to come,’ Atlantic Shores said the labor agreement was ‘the strongest commitment to date by a United States offshore wind developer to train local residents and tradespeople and use union labor and employers wherever possible.’ ‘New Jersey is poised to be a national leader in green economy job creation, and it is corporate partnerships like this that will make it possible,’ Atlantic Offshore Wind said. The company signed the agreement with Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, Laborers’ International Union of North America, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 456, Local 400 and Local 351, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, Ironworkers International and Eastern Millwright Regional Council.” [Offshore Engineer, 2/18/21 (=)]

 

Fisheries & Marine Life

 

Almost A Quarter Of All Freshwater Fish Species Are In Peril, Thanks To Humans. According to Bloomberg, “The 18,000 types of fish living in rivers make up a quarter of all vertebrate species. After two centuries of industrial development, 23% of them are now threatened with extinction, according to new research published today in the journal Science. Individual rivers face different challenges, from overfishing in the Mekong River to increased damming along the Amazon, said Sébastien Brosse, a freshwater ecology professor at Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France. What this study does is quantify those challenges. The French and Chinese scientists who contributed to the paper classified fish populations based on six scientific criteria including species and ecosystem function, which they then used to calculate a novel biodiversity index score—a ‘holistic measure of multiple measures of biodiversity change’— expressing humans’ impact on life in 2,456 river basins. More than 86% of rivers have been either moderately or severely affected by industrialization, with the remaining 13%, approximately, concentrated in tropical Africa and Australia. That’s far below the target many environmental organizations have set for conserving 30% of natural habitats by 2030. ‘This study provides support to the growing realization that the world is facing a freshwater biodiversity crisis, and humans are the primary cause,’ said Julian Olden, an ecology professor at the University of Washington, who was not involved in the study.” [Bloomberg, 2/18/21 (=)]

 

Lawsuit Seeks Update Of Crucial Population Data For Marine Mammals. According to Courthouse News Service, “The federal government uses flawed, outdated data on the populations of polar bears, walruses and other marine mammals to make decisions on projects that could threaten the survival of those species, environmental groups claim in a lawsuit filed Thursday. The Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network sued the U.S. Department of Interior and Fish and Wildlife Service in federal court. They claim Fish and Wildlife has failed to update expired population assessments for nine subspecies of sea otters, polar bears, manatees and walruses. Most of those groups are categorized as ‘strategic’ under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, meaning the level of human-caused death could threaten the group’s survival. The center’s attorney, Lalli Venkatakrishnan, blamed former President Donald Trump’s administration for a ‘reckless push to expand oil drilling’ on public lands and oceans that did not properly consider science and the protection of vulnerable marine mammal populations. ‘We hope the Biden administration will move quickly to update population assessments for polar bears, sea otters and other vulnerable species,’ Venkatakrishnan said in a statement Thursday.” [Courthouse News Service, 2/18/21 (=)]

 

Dolphins Feel Impacts Of Oil Spill A Decade Later. According to E&E News, “Dolphins living in the area of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill were found to have impaired immune functions a decade later, alerting scientists to the long-term effects of heavy oiling on marine life. Bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay, located in the northern Gulf of Mexico, tested a decade after the spill had immunological alterations similar to those immediately following the spill, according to the study published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Researchers even saw effects on dolphins born after the spill, suggesting that dolphins exposed to large amounts of oil may be passing their altered genes down generations, making an entire family tree more susceptible to viruses. The culprit: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons naturally found in oil that have been linked in humans to long-term conditions like jaundice and kidney and liver damage. Bottlenose dolphin with oil on head. Photo credit: NOAA Oil was visible on the head of a bottlenose dolphin in July 2010. NOAA ‘It is surprising to see such long-term effects in animals that, not unlike humans, are long-lived, on top of the food chain and dependent on seafood for a diet,’ said Sylvain De Guise, co-author and professor at the University of Connecticut. ‘Unfortunately, they can’t follow public health advisories to not eat the fish.’” [E&E News, 2/18/21 (=)]

 

North Atlantic Right Whale Entangled In Commercial Fishing Gear Off Sebastian Inlet. According to Treasure Coast Palm, “A team dispatched Thursday hopes to save a North Atlantic right whale entangled in commercial fishing gear, last seen off the coast of Sebastian Inlet, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The team is specially trained in disentangling whales before they drown, starve or die from infection, but efforts to extract them aren’t always successful. Disentangling attempts are complex and dangerous for the whale and rescuers, who are trained, experienced and equipped with the proper support and equipment, as well as authorization under a permit from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries division. Well-meaning boaters should not attempt to help. Boaters are reminded they must remain 500 yards away from right whales per federal law. That is over a quarter mile and about the length of five football fields.” [Treasure Coast Palm, 2/18/21 (=)]

 

AP | Another Calf Born To Endangered Northwest Orcas. According to E&E News, “Whale researchers say another calf has been born to the endangered southern resident orcas of the Salish Sea. The Orca Network wrote on its social media pages yesterday that the whale known as L-86, or by the nickname ‘Surprise!’ for her own surprise birth in 1991, had been seen with a new calf. Only about half of newborn orcas survive, but if this one does it will boost the population to 75. All three pods — the J, K and L pods — of the whales were seen heading up Haro Strait between San Juan and Vancouver islands. Two calves were born to J pod in September.” [E&E News, 2/18/21 (=)]

 

 

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