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The three companies planning to construct wind farms off the New Jersey coast have agreed to not pursue any restrictions on fishing near the operations, which means commercial fisherman would be allowed to harvest their bounty between the turbines while anglers, pot fishermen and even scuba divers could fish right next to the structures.

Government agencies involved with granting permits for the windmills would still have to agree to the proposal, but they are not expected to mount objections.

There is even some discussion of installing buoys near the turbines so fishermen can tie up and not have to anchor in deep water.

The firms Fishermen's Energy of New Jersey, Bluewater Wind New Jersey Energy and Garden State Offshore Energy already have leased areas from the U.S. Department of Interior to install meteorological towers to gather data to see whether wind farms are feasible.

The areas in question are each 10 square miles, which could have taken 30 square miles away from the fishing community. A fourth wind farm of 10 square miles is planned off Delaware that is also on grounds used by New Jersey boats.

The decision not to make areas around the windmills off-limits could have set a precedent for other wind farms. New Jersey is set to become the first state with offshore wind farms, but many other states are in the discussion or planning stages.

The state Board of Public Utilities, which is helping the projects with grants, is supporting open fishing zones. But since the projects are all in federal waters, the Department of Interior still must concur.

"I have some good news. None of the three companies are planning restrictions. There have been no collisions with wind farms in Europe and I'm sure our captains are just as good," Lance R. Miller, the BPU's chief of policy and planning, announced at Thursday's state Marine Fisheries Council meeting in Galloway Township.

Miller noted the wind farms may act like artificial reefs and attract fish, which would help hook-and-line anglers, pot fishers and scuba divers. He noted some types of commercial fishing could be physically restricted, only because of the distance between the turbines.

There is a plan to submerge the transmission lines that carry the electricity the turbines produce so they will not affect commercial fisheries that use dredges, such as clammers, to work the ocean floor.

"The electricity doesn't go to shore by magic," Miller said.

The commercial fishing industry, which has had problems over the years with transatlantic phone lines, is lobbying to make sure they are buried deep enough.

Miller noted the tips of the spinning blades will be about 100 feet from the water, so they will present no problems for boats.

The Department of Interior's Minerals Management Service could still impose restrictions but this would likely be addressed when the process gets further along. At this point, the leases are just for meteorological stations.

Rhonda Jackson, a spokeswoman for Fishermen's Energy, said the U.S. Coast Guard has no restrictions on fishing near offshore structures. The Minerals Management Service has sometimes put a 90-foot buffer to oil rigs but Miller said he does not foresee this with turbines.

Miller said the turbines are private property so fishermen may not be allowed to tie up to them to fish.

Jackson, however, said a buoy system has been discussed just to solve that problem.

"It depends on how the foundations are built. We'll talk about that during the design phase," Jackson said.

Miller said having Fishermen's Energy, which comprises commercial fishing interests, involved is helping meet the needs of the industry. Jackson said one reason the firm formed was to make sure the farms were located away from prime fishing grounds.

It has not yet been determined how many turbines the companies hope to build. It depends partly on how many megawatts of electricity each one produces. A 350-megawatt wind farm, which is what Fishermen's Energy wants, would take about 97 turbines if each produced 3.6 megawatts. The state's Energy Master Plan calls for generating 1,000 megawatts offshore by 2012 and 3,000 by 2020, enough power for 350,000 homes.

Miller said even if the turbines are a half-mile apart, it could impose physical restrictions on some types of fishing, including one where two boats tow a net between them.

"Something one mile wide won't get through a half-mile opening. If it fits, there would not be any restrictions," Miller said.

E-mail Richard Degener:

RDegener@pressofac.com

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