It pays not to get between a fisherman and their livelihood, as the offshore wind industry is learning fast.
Along America’s Atlantic coast, fishermen of all shapes and sizes have turned on the offshore wind industry with an industrial scale fury.
Right alongside them are those with a passionate concern for whales, porpoises and dolphins. Another group of critters that the wind industry treats as ‘roadkill’, and why wouldn’t, they? – having helpfully obtained government licenses to kill as many as they please.
Then there’s the effect on the creatures that provide fishermen with income and their customers with dining pleasure.
Serious studies have shown that offshore wind farms are doing irreparable harm to crabs and lobsters.
One scientific study found that the electromagnetic fields generated by created by the cables that connect offshore wind turbines attract crabs that then remain in place, fixated on the magnetic field, effectively immobilising them.
Another study relating to their cousins, the lobster has shown that the same electromagnetic fields deform their young to the point where they are incapable of ordinary movement ie, they become crustacean cripples.
With all that in mind, it comes as no surprise that South Australia’s hard-working lobster fishermen are reacting in just the same way as their Atlantic cousins to the threat posed by a plan to spear 77 of these giants right into the heart of their peaceful and productive fishing community.
Fishing industry threatened by proposed offshore wind farm in South East SA
ABC News
Elise Adamo and Sam Bradbrook
14 February 2023
Residents in a small South Australian coastal town are pushing back against the threat posed by a proposed offshore wind farm to the local fishing industry, whales and wildlife.
Port Macdonnell, the southernmost town on the state’s Limestone Coast, is home to about 800 people.
Off its coast, the Southern Ocean has some of the most productive southern rock lobster waters in the country.
Offshore wind developer Blue Float Energy has announced plans to build a 77-turbine wind farm between 8 kilometres and 20km out to sea, which the company says would generate 1.1 gigawatts of intermittent power.
Named Southern Winds, the planning stage of the proposed wind farm is expected to take up to eight years with a three-year construction period if all licensing approvals are granted.
Community reacts
Blue Float Energy held a drop-in information session in the town on Tuesday night where locals reacted against the visual impact of the turbines and the threat posed by the proposal to the town’s fishing industry.
Fisher and farmer Brodi Milstead said he was not only worried about his industry.
“No matter what their studies say, we know it’s going to affect our businesses, our environment, our whales, everything that lives there,” he said.
“They’re saying it’ll create jobs for the South East, but that’s for six to 11 years. My business is going to support my family for generations.”
Further studies to come
Local resident and southern rock lobster fisherman Jeremy Levins said there were still many questions that were yet to be answered.
“There’s a lot of questions people want to know, but there’s not a lot of answers actually given at this stage,” he said.
“I wouldn’t like to see it go ahead here. I think there are more efficient ways of getting power and energy than sticking 70-odd wind turbines out at sea.
“There will be restrictions that will happen, there will be impacts on the environment where they’re putting them in, and with the fish side; do the vibrations through the water affect their ecosystem?”
ABC News
Offshore wind ‘industry’ all set to wipe out Australian whales, too.
About stopthesethings
STOP THESE THINGS 
Reblogged this on whatyareckon.
There are two more project proposals to adjoin this one – both in Victorian waters. One along the State waters of a protected area from Nelson to Portland was proposed a while ago, the other as just been submitted to be attached to the first one but out in Commonwealth waters. The one for SA is in Commonwealth waters but adjoining State waters which have the RAMSAR wetlands and coastal waters protected area of the Piccaninnie Ponds.
At the ‘information’ meeting held in Port MacDonnell and in flyers etc to promote the meeting BlueFloat stated the turbines would be 8-10MW when challenged at the meeting about the size they were stating the representative firmly stated they were to
be 8-10MW. Less than 2 weeks later when the proposal had been submitted to the EPBC their documents show they are going to be 15-20MW. These proposed to begin their onslaught as close as 8km from shore which is just the other side of SA State waters.
To ad insult to injury the power form these turbines is to be taken to shore at Nelson, just on the border with SA, which is also on the border of the Piccaninnie
Ramsar site.
You have to wonder WHY we have protected areas. Its as if they are saying that NO damage can happen at the edge of protected areas that though the Oceans have no physical ‘borders’ and the flow of water stops at the edge of protected areas and at State and Commonwealth declared areas it’s OK to put fixed objectionable and damaging turbines on their imaginary boundaries.
Surly what happens in Commonwealth or even international waters has an effect on State coastal waters?
There’s recent research indicating turbines are warming the waters where they are installed in the ocean environment ie damaging the complexity of our ocean floors etc.
(Offshore Wind Farm Change Marine Ecosystems, study shows. November 2022.
Maybe our Federal Members of Parliament AND State ones need to do some reading to ensure our beautiful and productive coastal waters are actually protected.
Do we want our beautiful waters destroyed for the sake of misinformed ‘scaredy cats’ who sit in offices far away from the real word, do we have to follow like lapdogs the mistakes of the northern hemisphere and tear the life out of our oceans?
We have done this on-land do we have to do it to our oceans as well?