The Empire Wind 1 Fisheries Compensation Program has been established to provide compensation to commercial and charter/for hire fishermen along with shoreside businesses that have been economically impacted by Empire Wind 1’s construction and operation activities. The compensation program is designed to minimize the administrative and documentation burden on fishers and to streamline the compensation process for impacted parties.
Who is Eligible?
Commercial Fisherman and Charter for hire:
- Having fished in the following areas for three years during 2020 through 2024: X34, Y34, Y35, Z35, AA35, AB35, AA36, AB36, AC36 (State), 612 (Federal).
- Currently holding a commercial permit.
- Shoreside Services
- Located within 10 miles of New Bedford, Cape May or Point Pleasant, or having more than 20% of business associated with the project area.
- Having the majority of business revenues [50% of total revenue or more] documented in an up or downstream fishing support service (bait, ice, vessel repair, seafood dealers, etc.)
What Documentation is Required?
Commercial Fishermen and Charter for-hire:
- Commercial permit.
- Federally and/or state approved trip level reporting information that establishes fishing activity within Empire Wind. Examples of this are: landing reports (VTR, dealer reports, AIS data), VMS trip reports, federal dealer reports, dock sales receipts, Fishery observer or At Sea Monitor data, NOAA Cooperative Research Study Fleet data, Time-stamped chart plotter data/images, or SAFIS data.
- Revenue data from 2020 to 2024.
Shoreside Business
- Valid seafood dealer and/or processor permit where applicable.
- Documentation demonstrating portion of revenue generated from upstream and downstream.
- Revenue data from 2020 to 2024.
To learn more, please visit Empire Wind 1 Fisheries Compensation Program Website.
