Federal officials say they’ve signed a 10-year memorandum of understanding about offshore wind energy with fishing industry interests on the East Coast.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced the agreement with Responsible Offshore Development Alliance on Tuesday. The alliance is a broad coalition of fishing industry groups and companies.
NOAA says the agreement’s designed to bring fishing interests together with regulators “to collaborate on the science and process of offshore wind energy development on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf.”
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management acting director Walter Cruickshank says wind energy developments on the shelf must take into consideration how the activities could affect the marine environment and other industries. NOAA says the memorandum will help sustain fishing opportunities while allowing energy projects.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.