Block Island Wind Farm in Rhode Island\u00a0is the United States\u2019 first offshore wind farm. The 30-megawatt, five-turbine offshore wind farm began commercial operations in December 2016 and generates enough energy to power 17,000 homes. And it turns out, it\u2019s perfectly safe, and sometimes even beneficial, for fish.<\/p>\n
A seven-year-long study, the first of its kind in the United States, titled, \u201cDemersal fish and invertebrate catches relative to construction and operation of North America\u2019s first offshore wind farm,\u201d was published<\/a> in the ICES Journal of Marine Science<\/em> on March 29. The study was paid for by the wind farm developers because Rhode Island coastal regulators mandated it.<\/p>\n The ICES Journal of Marine Science<\/em> is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering oceanography and marine biology. It\u2019s published by Oxford University Press for the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, of which it is the official journal.<\/p>\n Researchers examined data collected between 2012 and 2019 from monthly trips to the offshore wind farm in a commercial trawler that navigated easily between the turbines. Block Island\u2019s wind turbines are a half nautical mile apart, and the US East Coast projects in the pipeline will be a full nautical mile apart. Nearly 664,000 fish representing 61 species were collected during the study.<\/p>\n The researchers found that there was no significant negative effect on fish that live near the bottom of the sea \u2013 demersal fish \u2013 and invertebrate populations during Block Island\u2019s construction and operation. <\/p>\n In fact, the researchers found that the turbines had positive effects. The Boston Globe<\/em> explains<\/a>:<\/p>\n The only meaningful effect they found by the wind turbines was positive: a lot more black sea bass were congregating around the Block Island wind farm, probably because they like to hang out near physical structures like wind turbine foundations. Scientists also found more Atlantic cod there, but not often enough to draw any firm conclusions.<\/p>\n The study not only looked at what fish were caught, but also what sort of condition they were in and what was in their stomachs. Some were eating more mussels, which indicated they were feeding off of mussels growing on the turbines themselves.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The study\u2019s abstract notes<\/a>:<\/p>\n Results from this first North American OSW [offshore wind] fisheries monitoring study provide valuable information for future OSW development on the northeastern US coastline.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This study, which was designed by scientists and commercial fishermen at INSPIRE International<\/a>, has the potential to help remove obstacles for the young offshore wind industry in the United States. <\/p>\n In the summer of 2021, for example, Maine state legislators permanently banned offshore wind in state waters, citing the protection of the fishing and lobstering industries. Some of those legislators work in the fishing and lobstering industries.<\/p>\n Perhaps Maine might reconsider its offshore wind ban in state waters as the result of this study. We now know that fish aren\u2019t negatively impacted by offshore wind turbines. However, they do suffer from global warming as a result of burning and drilling for fossil fuels. And if we don\u2019t stop burning and offshore drilling for fossil fuels, then that will<\/em> kill the fish population \u2013 and the fishing industry.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong> Maine governor permanently bans offshore wind in state waters<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Electrek\u2019s Take<\/h2>\n
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