The University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) will host a workshop in West Tisbury on Dec. 3 in the West Tisbury library. The final leg of a four-part series, the workshop is geared to “identify priorities for assessments of impacts on fisheries and ecological conditions that are associated with offshore wind development,” according to a Vineyard Wind press release. “These priorities, which focus on effects before, during, and after construction, will be used to aid the design of studies of the Vineyard Wind project, which will be the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind project.”
Prior to the workshop in West Tisbury, workshops will be held in New Bedford, Rhode Island, and closer to home at the Chatham Community Center, 792 Main St., on Nov. 19 from 6 pm to 8 pm.
“The SMAST studies, which are part of a collaborative agreement between the school and Vineyard Wind, seek to further public understanding about the effects of offshore wind development and inform future permitting and public policy decisions regarding wind energy facility siting,” the release states. “The fishing industry has raised important questions about the impacts of offshore wind development on the marine environment and on sea life. The comprehensive research effort by SMAST will help establish a robust body of knowledge to benefit the American offshore wind industry and the fishing community long after the first Vineyard Wind project is completed.”
The Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust will have members in attendance at the West Tisbury workshop, according to trust president John Keene.
