There are only about 325 North Atlantic right whales left in the world, and approximately 80 of them have assembled in the waters near Cape Cod.

They have come together to feed on an unusually huge population of zooplankton. The whales normally follow zooplankton from Canada as they are moved with ocean currents down to the Massachusetts coast. This year the extra numbers of zooplankton are attracting a record congregation of North Atlantic rights, which are one of the most endangered species in the world.

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The Cape Wind project in Massachusetts cleared its biggest hurdle to date on Friday when the U.S. Minerals Management Service gave final environmental approval to the 450 megawatt offshore wind farm.

The eight year-old battle for what would be the country’s first offshore wind farm may finally be nearing an end as the long-awaited Final Environmental Impact Statement reported negligible to minor impacts across all but one of the 27 resource areas studied. The impact on marine birds was the only one judged to have anything above negligible to minor environmental impacts. Taken in full, MMS found the project would have no significant environmental impacts.

Needless to say, Cape Wind supporters enthusiastically welcomed the decision. The project’s developer, Jim Gordon the CEO of Cape Wind Associates said “Massachusetts is one major step closer to becoming home to America’s first offshore wind farm and becoming a global leader in the production of offshore renewable energy.”

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I grew up in Massachusetts where the Kennedys—for all intents and purposes—are treated like royalty. I do hold Senator Ted Kennedy in very high regard for all the excellent work he has done in his 46 years in the U.S. Senate.  That is why I am especially troubled by the senator’s long-standing opposition to the proposed offshore wind farm in Massachusetts. As news broke late last week that there might be yet another delay in the eight year battle to get Cape Wind approved, I had to wonder if Kennedy’s hand was somehow behind it. And according to reports, that is at least plausible.

As I reported yesterday**, Minnesota Rep. Jim Oberstar sent a letter to Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen asking for a delay in the Guard’s final recommendations on Cape Wind. Acting as Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Oberstar’s letter demanded a delay for public comment on the project’s potential impact on marine radar.

Well, apparently it worked.

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An entire army of day fisherman have, for decades, gone out into the deep green Atlantic, returning at dusk with enough fresh cod, haddock and bass to support a family. Beginning in the 1500s, Portuguese fishermen from Cape Verde and the Canary islands set up fishing shacks to take advantage of the rich summer months (and the Kennedys thought they were the first to summer on the Cape…) Eventually, these fisherman began to make their permanent homes along this stretch of New England coast as they discovered the abundance of year-round fish stocks.

But now, despite its decidedly nautical culture, the Cape is suffering from a deficiency of fish.

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Even if you haven’t closely followed the protracted political saga swirling around the proposed offshore wind farm in the shallow waters off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, you probably know that it has been going on for a long, long time. Unfortunately, the case has been filled with enough juicy political fodder over the last seven years to keep people from dwelling upon the fact that the regulatory review has already brought seven years of scrutiny by seventeen state and federal agencies.

However, an end may be in sight as a final decision from the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) is imminent. That is why the timing of Vinick’s announcement strikes me as odd, and quite possibly a harbinger of things to come.

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