美国渔民忧心风力发电行业的增长

US Fishermen Fear the Growth of Wind Power Industry

Fishermen on the northeastern coast of the United States are voicing concerns about the development of offshore¹ wind power.

Some of the fishermen are based in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

The town was once a major center for whale-hunting ships. The city was made famous in Herman Melville’s book about whaling, “Moby Dick.” New Bedford also has been one of the nation’s most profitable fishing ports for 17 years.

But fishermen there now fear the possibility of having to pilot their boats through many wind turbines to reach their fishing grounds.

The state of Massachusetts wants to build hundreds of the large wind turbines off the coast near New Bedford. The electricity produced would be enough to power more than 1 million homes.

Eric Hansen harvests scallops from his boat in New Bedford. His family has been in this business for generations. The 56-year old spoke² to the Associated Press about his concerns. “You ever see a radar³ picture of a wind farm?” he asked. Hansen added, “Transit⁴ through it will be next to impossible, especially in heavy wind and fog.”

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is the government agency responsible for dealing⁵ with energy issues in federally-owned waters. An organization representing East Coast scallop fishermen has taken legal action against the agency. They are trying to stop a proposal for a wind farm of nearly 200 wind turbines off the coast of New York’s Long Island.

Commercial fishermen in Maryland’s Ocean City and North Carolina’s Outer Banks have also raised concerns about being unable to reach fishing grounds.

But supporters of the offshore wind power industry say they have learned from Europe’s experience with the technology. They also point to the opening of America’s only offshore wind farm near Rhode Island. They say it provides evidence that wind farms will not hurt U.S. fishermen.

Deepwater Wind is a company based in Rhode Island that opened the five-turbine wind farm near the state’s Block Island.

The company is proposing larger wind farms in other places along the East Coast.

Matthew Morrissey is a vice⁶ president of Deepwater. He told the Associated Press, “We want to do this the right way, and I believe we have a path to do that.”

However, fishermen are concerned that offshore wind farms will only lead to more restrictions⁷.

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management representative Stephen Boutwell said the agency has taken steps to deal with the concerns of the fishermen. These include banning wind farm development in some areas off Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York that are valuable to the fishing industry.

The agency also has carried out studies on issues fishermen have raised. This includes questions about the effects of wind farm construction and electromagnetic fields on fish behavior.

Deepwater Wind said early findings from studies of its Block Island wind farm show little harm to the environment. The company suggests that fish and lobster⁸ populations are “just as strong” as they were before the wind farm.

The company says it has paid several fishermen who were temporarily unable to reach their fishing grounds during construction.

There have not been reports of fishing boats striking the turbines. But several boats have reported their fishing equipment getting damaged by undersea structures connected to the turbines.

Richard Fuka is the president of the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance. He said problems with wind turbines have cost fishermen tens of thousands of dollars in equipment and lost fishing time.

Also, U.S. fishermen are not pleased with the comparison to European fishermen. In Europe, 10 different countries have placed restrictions on fishing around the more than 3,500 turbines off their shores.

U.S. officials and developers however say similar bans are not being considered, except during construction.

Studies have been done on the North Sea of Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. They suggest the turbines actually support the growth of sea life.

Yet, Merlin Jackson of the Thanet Fishermen’s Association said in Britain transit through wind farms remains⁹ difficult in bad weather.

He said there have been at least two cases of fishing boats hitting turbines. Fishermen largely depend on the lights on turbines as guides, but they are not always taken care of well.

Jackson added that America’s slower, more complex approval process for turbine construction has “forced more questions to be asked.”

East Coast fishermen seem more united than those in Europe when wind farms are being developed.

“If fishermen can be organized and be allowed to have input¹⁰ into the earliest parts of the planning process, then there should be a way forward,” Jackson said.

I’m Pete Musto. And I’m Lucija Milonig.

Words in This Story

whale – n. an often very large animal that lives in the ocean and that is a mammal rather than a fish

turbine(s) – n. a tall structure that has large blades attached to an engine and that is used to produce electricity

scallop(s) – n. a type of shellfish that has a flat, round shell with two parts and that is often eaten as food

transit – n. the act of moving people or things from one place to another

commercial – adj. related to or used in the buying and selling of goods and services

electromagnetic – adj. describing a magnetic field that is produced by a current of electricity

lobster – n. an ocean animal that has a long body, a hard shell, and a pair of large claws and that is caught for food

allow(ed) – v. to permit someone to have or do something

input – n. advice or opinions that help someone make a decision

1 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

4 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 lobster   

n.龙虾，龙虾肉

参考例句：

• The lobster is a shellfish.龙虾是水生贝壳动物。
• I like lobster but it does not like me.我喜欢吃龙虾，但它不适宜于我的健康。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。