Effects of floating wind farms on the marine ecosystem, with a focus on pelagic fish.

Wind farms are a new use of area in Norwegian waters and could lead to conflicts among energy companies and fisheries about how to use ocean area and how such use affects the ecosystem. For a sustainable use of the ocean, all user interests must be considered and the ecosystem effects assessed. In this project we will study how a floating wind farm affects the marine ecosystem with a focus on fish populations. Bottom-mounted wind farms have been shown to attract fish and provide increased food availability and shelter, which could lead to positive effects for fish populations. On the other hand, disturbances from wind farms, such as noise pollution, could negatively affect fish populations. For floating wind farms, very little is known about their effects on species distribution and behaviours. In this project we will 1. document changes after the construction of Norway's first floating wind farm and 2. Measure noise and vibration within the wind farm and 3. Test how disturbances from turbines such as noise affect pelagic fish and their interaction with predators such as birds. To this aim we will compare species composition and abundance, fish and bird behaviour in the Tampen area before and after the establishment of a floating wind farm. We aim to predict whether the full-scale floating wind farms that are currently planned are more likely to have a negative or a positive effect on fish populations and catch rates. We actively involve the main stakeholders within energy and fisheries in this project.

Wind farms are a new use of area in Norwegian waters and drive potential conflicts among energy companies and fisheries about area use and ecosystem effects. For a sustainable use of the ocean, these interacting interests must be considered and the ecosystem effects assessed. In this project we will study how a floating wind farm affects the marine ecosystem with a focus on fish populations. Bottom-mounted wind farms have been shown to attract fish and have been hypothesized to increase food availability and shelter, which could lead to positive population-level effects. On the other hand, disturbances from wind farms, such as noise pollution, could negatively affect reproduction and food intake. For floating wind farms, very little is known about their effects on species distribution and behaviours. In this project we will 1. document changes at the population level after the construction of Norway's first floating wind farm and 2. Measure noise and vibration within the wind farm and 3. test how disturbances from turbines affect pelagic fish and their interaction with predators. To this aim we will compare species composition and abundance, fish and bird behaviour in the Tampen area before and after the establishment of a floating wind farm. We aim to disentangle the expected positive effects of the floating structures, on shelter and food availability, from the expected negative effects of disturbance from the turbines, and assess their relative strength. The latter will allow us to predict whether the full-scale floating wind farms that are currently planned are more likely to have a negative or a positive effect on fish populations and catch rates. We will address this question in collaboration with the main stakeholders within energy and fisheries. Stakeholder group discussions will focus on the interlinkages and trade-offs between socioeconomic activities (wind energy, fisheries) and ecosystem structure and functioning.