All Defendants Served as Full U.S. Seafood Industry Joins Legal Fight Against Empire Wind

From Boat to Market to Plate... Entire American Seafood Chain Now in Federal Lawsuit to Stop Foreign-Controlled Empire Wind Project

TRENTON, NJ, UNITED STATES, July 9, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- From Boat to Market to Plate, Entire American Seafood Chain Now in Federal Lawsuit to Stop Foreign-Controlled Empire Wind Project

The major pillar of the American seafood economy and a historic recreational fishing club, the 203-year-old Fulton Fish Market Cooperative and the Point Lookout Fishing Club, have officially joined the federal lawsuit to stop the Empire Wind offshore wind project. Their entry marks a significant escalation, broadening the case into a fully unified legal challenge that now spans every tier of the U.S. fishing community: from commercial harvesters and seafood processors to national distributors and offshore recreational anglers.

The lawsuit reached another critical milestone this week as all named defendants, including Norwegian state-owned energy company Equinor ASA, were officially served. The final service occurred at Equinor’s Stamford, Connecticut office yesterday. The original case was filed on June 3, 2025, in U.S. District Court in New Jersey by lead plaintiffs Protect Our Coast NJ, Clean Ocean Action, and ACK4Whales, with Judge Georgette Castner assigned to the case.

With all parties now before the court, plaintiffs are moving swiftly to request a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and injunction to halt construction activity, which began in the lease area on June 1. The suit alleges that Empire Wind violates federal law, poses serious risks to maritime safety, and threatens permanent harm to fisheries and ocean ecosystems.

This case represents a historic first: a legal alliance that includes every segment of the seafood supply chain, from vessel to processor to market to recreational fisherman, united in federal court against an offshore wind project.

Two Major Entrants Expand the Fight

Two powerhouse plaintiffs have recently joined the suit, adding generational legacy and economic firepower:

The Fulton Fish Market Cooperative, operating since 1822, is the largest seafood market in the United States and the second largest in the world. Its 23 member companies move more than 5 million pounds of seafood weekly. The Cooperative employs over 1,200 workers, including more than 500 union jobs based in the Bronx. Many of Fulton’s suppliers fish directly in the Empire Wind lease area, a direct threat to their product stream and business model.

The Point Lookout Fishing Club, founded in 1952, is a cornerstone of Long Island’s Nassau County recreational fishing community. Its 100+ members regularly fish traditional grounds like Cholera Banks and Hudson Canyon; prime areas now located within and beyond the Empire Wind lease zone. Members now face serious navigational risks, as routes to these offshore canyons would require crossing through a dangerous field of turbines.

Quotes from Plaintiffs and Attorney Bruce Afran:

Nicole Ackerina, CEO, Fulton Fish Market Cooperative:
"It’s clear with the recent passing of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill that this administration is aware Offshore Wind is nothing but a greenwashing shell game that will industrialize our oceans and kill longstanding American port communities and economies. The so-called economic benefits of Empire Wind are based on manipulated and deceptive data, advanced for the sake of political clout, at the expense of an industry that provides one of the last remaining pure and unprocessed proteins to Americans; at the expense of thousands of union jobs, working docks, and the entire American seafood economy that fuels New York’s restaurants and tourism sector. The 203-year-old Fulton Fish Market Cooperative, the largest in the country, stands with our local fisheries and demands a full stop-work order for Empire Wind.”

Kevin Halpin, President, Point Lookout Fishing Club:
"Given the fact that Empire Wind was given the ‘all clear’ from its stop work order in May, the Point Lookout Fishing Club had no choice but to fight this project. The damage to our marine environment and our fisheries could be irreversible, all for a project which is dirty, dangerous to our safety, and completely inefficient. We look forward to being able to defend our historic fishing grounds against Norwegian invaders.”

Robin Shaffer, President, Protect Our Coast New Jersey:
"No one who cares about the ocean or the thousands of jobs in America’s seafood industry is staying silent. Empire Wind is a disgrace, a slap in the face to the people who help feed this nation and to families already burdened by high energy costs. We can’t let a foreign government use our waters to sell us overpriced electricity.”

Bruce Afran, Lead Attorney for Plaintiffs:
"The government of Norway, and its state-controlled oil company, Equinor, are trying to build a wind turbine project that is ecologically destructive, damages our regional fishing industry, reduces native fish populations, and interferes with navigation, problems that the US government itself has admitted, and acknowledged. With the entry of the Fulton Fish Market into the case, it is now clear that the largest fishing industry participants and environmental groups recognize the danger of this project that benefits only a Norwegian government company and not the people of New York and New Jersey."

Plaintiffs are preparing to appear in U.S. District Court to formally request a Temporary Restraining Order, seeking to suspend all construction activities under Empire Wind while the court examines the project’s legal, environmental, and economic violations. With full service complete and national seafood institutions now in the fight, this case signals a turning point in the growing resistance to industrial offshore wind development in U.S. waters.

Case 3:25-cv-06890-GC-TJB PROTECT OUR COAST NJ et al v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA et al Amended Complaint:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zlZhKS0b9NJdue5LaQLU0lMBtqTfoRQb/view?usp=drivesdk

Contacts:
Nicole Ackerina, CEO, Fulton Fish Market Cooperative (516) 462-0726‬/ Nicole@fultonfishcooperative.com
Bruce Afran, Lead Attorney for Plaintiffs, (609) 454-4735/ bruceafran@aol.com
Kevin Halpin, President, Point Lookout Fishing Club khalpin1@gmail.com
Robin Shaffer, President, Protect Our Coast New Jersey (703) 861-2809/ protectourcoastnj@gmail.com

Robin Shaffer
Protect Our Coast New Jersey
+1 703-861-2809
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