Early and better stakeholder consultation on offshore wind installation is vital, and more quantitative studies are needed to assess the monetary loss to fishing, a European Commission official has told an international workshop.
The workshop also heard how underwater noise and energy emissions, which could cause displacement of fish stocks, have been identified as negative impacts requiring more research.
The workshop hosted by the North Western Waters Advisory Council (NWWAC) and the Pelagic Advisory Council (PelAC) involved expert speakers from the European Commission, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the European Marine Board.
Its report has just been published on both organisations’ websites.
Céline Frank of DG MARE said that the Commission recently adopted the REPowerEU communication in response to the rise in energy prices, placing emphasis on the need for more renewable energy.
The European Commission plans to issue guidance on renewable energy permitting to shorten the administrative procedure in member states, she noted.
Frank outlined the results of a study prepared by DG MARE, led by Wageningen Marine Research.
It found the main impacts occur during construction of wind farms when disturbance and sediment displacement are higher.
She said that impacts are mitigated during the operational phase, which can also have positive effects on the environment, such as the creation of artificial reefs where marine organisms can find refuge and recovery.
However, the ecosystem is “likely to remain altered in its functions and processes”, and more research is needed on these aspects, she said.
She pointed out the importance of the marine spatial planning process, which should be accompanied by “continuous discussion and consultation with the different stakeholders involved”.
She said that compensation as a strategy has been approached in 11 different ways by member states, as some provide direct compensation to fishers while in others, it comes as part of a specific fund.
She said that more quantitative studies are needed to assess the monetary value of the loss of fishing.
She said it is evident that offshore wind farms tend to restrict fisheries activities due to safety implications, but cited Belgium as an example where no negative effect on fisheries were observed based on yearly aggregated vessel monitoring system-logbook data between 2006 and 2017.
Dr Andrew Gill, principal scientist, and strategic lead for offshore and marine renewable energy at Britain’s Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), outlined work by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) on the topic.
He said an ICES offshore wind development and fisheries working group found an offshore wind farm’s closed area can provide potential refuge for fish species, creating a new habitat and acting as a de facto marine protected area.
However, energy emissions, such as noise and electromagnetic fields, could cause displacement and sublethal effects on fisheries species, he noted
In response to questions, Dr Gill said that though no work is being carried out yet, spawning is something ICES hopes to address in future.
He said there is also a growing worry about floating installations with a lot of conflicting opinions, but ways to collect the data must be found to answer these questions.
In a discussion, Irish South and East Fish Producers’ Organisation chief executive John Lynch said that in Ireland, stakeholder involvement started with prospective developers visiting the harbours and showing maps with sites already chosen.
The fishing industry was not consulted, he said, and the currently proposed developments around the Irish coast will lead to serious fisheries displacement as fishing vessels will have nowhere to go due to the sheer number of wind energy developments proposed.
Dr Gill said the Irish situation is “an example of what is happening in many other countries as well”.
He said early engagement is key, but “has not happened in most countries”.
"Deploying renewables is vital and would also mitigate the risk of energy price spikes"
Better stakeholder engagement, and the need to strike a “careful balance, so as not to create other problems” was noted by Goncalo Carvahlo of PelAC, who also noted that while underwater noise is “out of sight”, it “cannot be allowed” to be “out of scope”.
In his keynote address, DG MARE’s head of unit Felix Leinemann said that the aggressive invasion of Ukraine has made it “absolutely evident that Europe needs to move even faster to reshape its energy system and reduce dependency on Russian fossil energy in the very short term”.
Deploying renewables is vital in this process and would also mitigate the risk of energy price spikes, while effectively acting against climate change, Leinemann said.
The Commission’s offshore renewables strategy aims to have an installed capacity of at least 60 GW of offshore wind by 2030 in EU waters, and at least 300 GW by 2050 (both excluding the UK with its own targets).
He said existing users, including fisheries, must be “properly considered”, along with the protection of marine biodiversity.
