Offshore wind turbines vs. damage from trawling and fossil-fuel addiction
Components of offshore wind turbines being staged for Vineyard Wind 1 at New Bedford.
Wosketomp photo
From ecoRI.org column by Frank Carini
Ever since the Block Island Wind Farm first became an idea more than a decade ago, the commercial fishing industry has that warned offshore turbines will industrialize the ocean and hurt ecosystems….
Offshore wind turbines, especially during construction, certainly add to the cacophony of underwater noise created by yachts (mega or otherwise), container ships, barges, oil and gas drilling, sonar, and military exercises that stress marine mammals and other sea life.
Centuries of commercial fishing and whaling also industrialized the oceans. They have had a profound impact on the marine environment. Combined with the extraction, transportation, and the burning of fossil fuels at sea, these two industries have caused significant marine distress.