'We cannot fish in a wind farm': Local fishermen file lawsuit over offshore wind project

Many people in Morro Bay have mixed feelings about a planned offshore wind project. Now, a lawsuit has been filed.

The Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization and the Port San Luis Commercial Fisherman's Association claim some rules and regulations related to the project have not been followed.

The Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization was incorporated in 1972 and has around 100 members.

“We’ve been here for a while and we’ve got an incredibly good reputation in all of those years, and we are very proud of it,” said Jeremiah O’Brien, Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization Vice President.

Their lawsuit was filed on February 29 against the California Coastal Commission, California State Lands Commission, three offshore wind developers, and vessel owners who are conducting offshore research.

O’Brien says the offshore wind project, which will encompass a 400-square-mile area off the coast northwest of Morro Bay, will damage the livelihoods of local fishermen.

“We see it as a possibility of their wind efforts to put us out of business... We cannot fish in a wind farm, obviously,” O’Brien said.

In a statement sent to KSBY News, a spokesperson for Even Keel Wind, one of the wind project developers, said, “Even Keel Wind is committed to responsibly sharing the ocean with fisheries and mariner communities. We value the input of the Central Coast fishing community and strive to facilitate productive collaboration that will enable offshore wind to coexist alongside other ocean users.”

The Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization says the lawsuit was triggered when the California State Lands Commission issued a permit on December 5 for geophysical survey work along the California coast and into the tidelands. They claim this does not follow legally required acoustic and biological monitoring and mitigation for impacted stakeholders, including fishermen.

“So consequently, we are suing that they stop immediately and answer to our questions as why are our rights, that we have legally, being ignored,” O’Brien said.

Another wind developer, Equinor, provided KSBY with a statement saying, “We are aware of the matter and are reviewing it. As a principle, we do not comment on pending litigation.”

Jay Velasquez comes to Morro Bay to fish about four times a month and says he thinks there are better ways to get energy.

“They’re high maintenance, I think those projects are. I think there’s better ways to utilize getting better energy or to be more efficient on other parts of our energy,” Velasquez said.

REACT Alliance, a group that opposes the offshore wind project, is having a "Save Our Seas" event from 12-5 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 at the Morro Bay Veterans Hall.