Baker Chooses Wind over Fishing [OPINION]

Governor Charlie Baker has delivered a sobering message to the local fishing industry: wind farming is here to stay, so get used to it.

On the same day that the Port of New Bedford was declared by NOAA to be the No. 1 port in the nation dollar-wise for the 18th consecutive year, Baker called for the fishing industry to find a way to co-exist with the wind industry.

"My view is if we're serious about fossil fuels, and I believe we are, and if we're serious greenhouse gas emissions we have a big opportunity to have a tremendous amount of success here, not just in Massachusetts and New England but all the way down the coast in creating alternatives to fossil fuels and I hope we find a way to make this work," Baker said.

The Rhode Island Fishermen's Advisory Board is suing to try and block the Vineyard Wind project that the industry says could have a detrimental impact on fishing in the region. Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior has put 390,000 additional acres south of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard up for auction to offshore wind developers.

Baker and other Massachusetts politicians have sold out to the environmental crowd on the issue of green energy while working to ban the use of all forms of fossil fuel. This comes at the expense of the ratepayer, and at a time when there is simply no way to adequately replace the energy generated by coal, nuclear and natural gas that is rapidly disappearing in Massachusetts.

When the day comes that we realize that this was a dumb idea and the fishing industry is in shambles—or worse, non-existent—Charlie Baker will be gone from office.

In the meantime, Baker and Elizabeth Warren have sold out our fishing industry and were recently rewarded with another term. Way to go!

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.