Fishermen in Maine lobbied to keep wind farms out of crucial fishing grounds. Will it happen in N.S.?

A no-compromise lobbying campaign by Maine lobster harvesters has helped keep wind farms out of a crucial lobster fishing area in the Gulf of Maine.

And that has some fishermen in Nova Scotia casting an envious eye south of the border.

"I'm pleased to see that happen in Maine. We'd like to see the same sort of diligence taken in Nova Scotia," said Tommy Amirault, a fisherman from Pubnico and president of the Coldwater Lobster Association.

"Maine obviously has concerns. It would be nice to see both provincial and federal governments take our concerns into practice," Amirault said.

Canada and Nova Scotia are in the process of creating rules to permit development of offshore wind farms off Nova Scotia. Potential locations are expected to be released next spring.

Some areas near Sable Island have been discussed as an example because of their relatively shallow waters and consistent winds.

The U.S. process is further advanced.

On Oct. 19, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management released an updated draft map of potential areas for wind farms in the Gulf of Maine.

It was different from the one originally released in April.

The new map excludes most of what's known as Lobster Management Area One, running from Maine to Massachusetts and extending 64 kilometres from shore.

How Maine lobstermen opposed wind farms

"Nearly all of that has been removed with the exception of two areas still under consideration," said Patrice McCarron, policy director of the Maine Lobstermen's Association.

It was a win for the Maine lobster fishing industry, worth $388 million US in 2022.

It claimed promoters of the floating turbine technology proposed in Maine could not explain impacts on bottom habitat, marine species or the environment.

The industry's concerns were not being answered, said McCarron.

"We didn't mince words that we opposed offshore wind anywhere in the Gulf of Maine. It's one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. And we really didn't think that this is the place to solve the renewable energy crisis," said McCarron.

'People thought we were crazy'

The Maine congressional delegation and governor eventually sided with the fishermen and environmentalists who joined them.

"People thought we were crazy. We were told that offshore wind is coming and it would be in our interest to find a way to coexist. And we were highly criticized for not coming up with a coexistence plan," said McCarron.

"But fundamentally fishermen so strongly opposed the industrialization of the ocean. That is what we brought to the table. So through that process we were able to really explain why offshore wind was so scary for fishermen."

In Nova Scotia, the process has just begun.

'Footprints are huge'

Amirault drove three and half hours to attend a government public information session in Dartmouth, N.S., recently. Inshore fisheries groups have attended similar sessions across the province. Others meetings will be held this month in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island,

"The footprints of some of those wind farms are huge, and there's no way that the seismic testing and the actual construction of those farms won't be detrimental," says Amirault.

The federal and provincial governments have created a five-member panel to make recommendations on how and where wind development should occur.

Panel co-chair James Wooder said he's hopeful a draft report in March will "tentatively identify areas where activity might take place."

He said it's no surprise fishermen have concerns about where it happens.

"I will say that most of the conversations have been really constructive. I think fishers recognize that there's an imperative for governments to try and figure out decarbonization and offshore wind could be a part of that."

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