UMass Dartmouth is hosting a series of workshops to find out what local fishermen think about a large-scale offshore wind farm that’s under development.
“Our focus has been really on bringing the industry to the table and making sure that they have an opportunity to have a voice in this,” Steven Lohrenz, dean of the School for Marine Science and Technology, said.
The wind farm would be about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and large enough to supply about 6 percent of all the electricity used in Massachusetts.
Lohrenz suspects concerns about fish habitat and navigation around the wind turbines will be discussed.
“Our goal ultimately is to move forward in a way that we sustain the current activities that are out there and preserve the resources,” Lohrenz said.
Vineyard Wind says it plans to pay fishermen $200 to attend a workshop.
“Fishermen deserve to be heard from at all steps in the offshore wind development process, but attending workshops like these often isn’t possible because they need to be out on the water, earning a living,” Erich Stevens, Chief Development Officer at Vineyard Wind, said in a statement. “Providing a small payment is the least Vineyard Wind can due to express our appreciation to the fishermen who take time from their work to attend meetings and provide important information.”
Four workshops are scheduled in November and December and will run from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.:
- Thursday November 8, School for Marine Science & Technology (836 South Rodney French Boulevard, New Bedford MA)
- Thursday November 15, Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island (East Farm Campus Building 61B URI, Kingston RI)
- Monday November 19, Chatham Community Center (702 Main Street, Chatham MA)
- Monday December 3, West Tisbury Library (1042 State Rd, West Tisbury MA)
The workshops are also open to the public.
