Central Coast fishermen sue California Coastal Commission over wind energy

October 11, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

Fishermen from Morro Bay and Port San Luis recently filed a legal challenge against the California Coastal Commission for not requiring wind energy companies to abide by Bureau of Ocean Energy Management rules before providing permits for sonar testing, the second lawsuit the groups have filed against the commission.

In 2022, the federal government auctioned off three offshore wind energy sites located between 20 and 30 miles off the coast near Morro Bay. Then in Dec. 2023, the state issued a permit allowing survey work to begin.

A lawsuit filed on Feb. 29 by the Morro Bay Commercial Fisherman’s Organization and the Port San Luis Commercial Fisherman’s Association, seeks to protect the plaintiffs’ constitutional right to fish through mitigation of impacts from the off-shore wind farms, including during the site surveys, construction, operation and decommissioning. The suit is winding through the system.

The fisherman organisation’s latest lawsuit, filed on Sept. 6, argues that the Coastal Commission required the wind energy companies, including Equinor, to “have an independent liaison that is responsible for the coordination and communication of site activities with affected commercial and recreational fishing communities and harbor districts.” The fishing liaison is required to work with fishing communities and the harbor districts to coordinate survey and other activities.

However, Equinor’s liaison “failed to inform the fisherman organizations or their members of the status of various permits required to commence such site surveys in dereliction of its obligations under Consistency Determination Condition 7a,” according to the lawsuit.

In approving Equinor’s coastal development permit for site surveys, the lawsuit contends the Coastal Commission abused its discretion when it denied the fisherman organizations a fair hearing. In addition, the fisherman organizations’ attorney was denied the opportunity to make a presentation to the Coastal Commission during the hearing due to technical problems with the remote appearance system.

In addition, the Coastal Commission determined that the permitted site survey activities will not affect fish and other marine species. However, local fishermen report catch numbers were down 67% to 70% while Equinor did sonar work off the coast.

Meanwhile, recent whale and dolphin deaths near the New York and New Jersey shores have prompted an investigation into the sonar noise levels produced by exploratory survey vessels working in ocean areas leased by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The California Constitution and the California Coastal Act both prioritize the protection and survival of commercial and recreational fishing. In addition, the public trust doctrine provides the “absolute right of the people to fish.”

The lawsuit asks the court to order the Coastal Commission to set aside Equinor’s survey permit and for court costs and legal fees.

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