Warning to Governments on Offshore Wind from European Fisheries Groups

Fisheries groups from around Europe today demanded that governments wake up and recognise the dangers to sustainable food production of the headlong rush to develop huge offshore windfarms.

Members of the Northern Fishing Alliance, which includes Scotland, England, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, France and the Netherlands, insisted that without serious dialogue about how natural resources should best be used, and an equal place at the discussion table for fishers, the fishing industry and the communities it supports could be swept away.

In a statement, the group said: “Fishermen’s representatives from around Europe have met in London because of their overwhelming concern about what is happening to our seas. Fishing has provided livelihoods, sustained communities and strengthened our countries’ ability to feed themselves for thousands of years. All of this is now at risk, as new regulations and vast industrial developments move ahead at an unprecedented pace with little thought for the consequences.

“Governments seek political advantage; interest groups chase donations; and energy companies scent huge profits from short-lived but massive offshore power stations. We fear that our fisheries and our communities may be swept away in this rush to grab the seas for new purposes. We call on governments to consider the security of our food supplies; the health of the marine environment; and the lives and livelihoods of ordinary citizens. There must be a real dialogue about how our natural resources can best be used: a dialogue informed by the facts about what these new proposals will do and which respects the voices of traditional sea users as equals.”