The prospect of offshore wind farms being built off the New Jersey coast has drawn ire from some in the fishing community, but a state official says the modern equivalent of “wind mills” may actually help anglers catch more fish.

Proposals currently call for wind farms to be built about 15-miles east of Ocean and Atlantic counties, with another company, Fisherman’s Energy, proposing a wind farm between 10 and 20 miles off Ocean City Inlet. Fisherman’s Energy received permission late last month to construct a meteorological data collection tower offshore, the first step in the research process required before a wind farm can be built.

If the plans for offshore wind farms come to frutiion, anglers would have access to the sites, said Lance Miller, chief of policy and planning at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the regulatory agency tasked with licensing the wind farm proposals.None of the companies proposing building the wind farms have called for any access restrictions around the turbine structures, which would tower 100-feet into the air and be attached to a monopole anchored to the ocean floor.

As presently proposed, the wind farms would have a 10-square mile footprint, with each turbine located one half-mile from each other. Commercial fishermen, such as draggers, with nets wider in length than one-half mile would be prohibited from fishing the sites. Recreational anglers, however, would have no access restrictions.

Anglers in the Gulf of Mexico must adhere to a 90-foot buffer between their vessels and offshore oil rigs but so far, no similar restrictions have been proposed for the offshore wind farms. The only potential restriction would be a prohibition from anchoring over the electrical cable from the wind farm site to shore, but even those cables would be buried and the restriction may not apply to recreational anglers. Additionally, said Miller, some of the companies working on the wind farms have indicated they would not be opposed to publicly releasing live meteorological data online, meaning anglers could receive up-to-date marine weather information any time.

Opponents of the wind farms have said the turbines would be an eyesore from Shore (according to a graphic released by the federal Minerals Management Service, turbines would be slightly visible from 15-miles away) and could disrupt fish stocks and harm migratory birds. Additionally, commercial fishermen have argued the wind farms could be placed on valuable fishing grounds for scallops, lobster, clams and other species.

While the offshore wind farm projects are moving ahead, New Jersey officials are fighting against a wind farm proposed for upper Delaware Bay. The proposal from Delsea Energy, of Toms River, is being opposed by officials who say the turbines could endanger the migratory Red Knot, an endangered bird species that calls Delaware Bay home during the summer months. •