Veritas Economics is a specialty economics firm focusing on fisheries, power, and regulatory economics. Having conducted scores of studies evaluating power plant fishery impacts for regulatory purposes, we have more experience in this area than any other firm. This experience indicates that high quality quantitative fishery economics can be an essential tool for environmental permitting.
The United States has substantial offshore wind energy resources. Federal and state governments, permitting agencies, and developers intend to develop these resources rapidly. However, conflicts with the commercial fishing industry have the potential to slow these efforts and generate ill will in an important industry of longstanding ocean users. More sophisticated study and exposition offers the potential to reduce conflict with commercial fishermen by enhancing the quality and transparency of conclusions, communications, and efforts to mitigate impacts.
At Veritas Economics we believe that bringing high quality fishery economics to the offshore wind permitting realm will enhance transparency of communications with the fishing industry and allow thoughtful and targeted mitigation that will improve industry relations as well as reduce permitting friction. To support these efforts, we are developing best-in-class simulation models to evaluate economic impacts of offshore wind development and identify appropriate mitigation. Combining results from these models with clear descriptions of methods and conclusions allows implementing high-quality fisheries economics in offshore wind permitting. This document describes models of commercial fishing for evaluating offshore wind impacts and describes how fishery economics fits in the offshore wind permitting process.