At two meetings last weekend, local fishermen expressed concerns about offshore wind energy development in the Gulf of Maine. These considerations centered on lost fishing grounds, disruption of fish-ing gear, and the potential adverse effects of construction, noise, and electromagnetic fields on fish, lobsters and spawning grounds. Some fishermen suggested that compensation may be due them for these losses.

At both meetings, fishermen fo-cused more on the potential for large-scale commercial wind de-velopment than for the two demonstration projects currently proposed in state and federal waters (see related story).

On Friday in Boothbay Harbor, at a “meet and greet” arranged by the Island Institute, Kelo Pinkham and Ed Tibbetts were the sole fishery representatives. Overall, Pinkham seemed less concerned about potential impacts to Boothbay Harbor fisheries than his counterparts on Saturday.

“It’s going to impact commercial fishing somewhat, especially transmission lines,” Pinkham said. “The difference between this (Statoil pilot project) and a full-scale development would be a lot.”

Pinkham said lobstermen were mainly concerned about losing fishing grounds to exclusion zones, increased boat traffic translating to gear loss and the effects of the electromagnetic field that emanates from the transmission cable.

“No matter where you put any-thing there are always going to be people who don’t want it in their back yard,” said Pinkham. “In my opinion, the spot that was picked (in federal waters) is probably as good as you’re going to find and I’m the one who uses it the most of anyone here in the harbor.”

At the Fishermen’s Forum in Rockland on Saturday, fishermen focused on getting answers to the big questions for which there seemed to be none at the moment.

For example, fishermen didn’t get clear answers to questions about how much space offshore wind parks might ultimately control in the Gulf of Maine. Nor were there answers for the size of exclusion zones around parks or for what monetary compensation may be possible for fishermen and affected shoreside communities. Questions about environmental effects and the potential for shoreside industry development also await answers at a later date. Federal and state officials assured the audience that the offshore wind process was in its early planning stages for Maine and that the issues raised would be addressed as plans developed.

Clive Farrin of Boothbay Harbor seemed wary because there ap-peared to be “no environmental showstopper” in the planning pro-cess. He added the $1 billion a year that marine fisheries contrib-ute to the state’s economy had to be factored into planning in offshore waters.

Eben Wilson of South Bristol said that the territoriality of lobster fishing meant lobstermen displaced by wind development couldn’t simply go elsewhere. Wilson said the Statoil project could affect one-third of the coast’s lobster fisher-men, who either fish in that area or transit it to reach other lobster zones.

Several fishermen were unhappy that they weren’t included earlier in planning efforts. Chris Weiner, of the American Bluefin Tuna Associ-ation, and others expressed their frustration over the current lease site in federal waters, chosen with-out consultation with fishermen.

“We are being asked where in the box this project should be, ver-sus where the box should be,” said Weiner.

Weiner said the federal lease site “couldn’t be worse” for tuna fishermen and “the whole fishery was caught within five to 10 miles” of the site.

Other fishermen echoed Weiner’s concerns and suggested that the University of Maine fishery data used to site the federal lease area was inadequate. However, fishermen also expressed a reluctance to share information on where they fished.

“We’re just not in the business of saying here’s where we fish,” said Patrice McCarron, Maine Lobster-men’s Association.

Although some fishermen ex-pressed support for wind energy development, Gerry Cushman of Port Clyde was more doubtful, “I don’t think the fishery goes hand in hand with wind farm development.”

During the afternoon session, working groups identified key is-sues and questions for federal and state regulators to consider as wind energy plans unfold.

Maine Department of Marine Resource Commissioner Pat Keliher concluded that the lack of reliable data on fisheries and potential impacts to resources and fishermen was a common thread throughout the afternoon discussion that must be addressed.