Study assessing impact of North Sea floating wind farm on fish movements

Salamander, the floating offshore wind joint venture between Ørsted, Simply Blue Group and Subsea7, is working with two Scottish universities to assess the potential impact of floating wind farms on marine ecosystems.

The PREDICT 2.0 initiative involves applying various sensors to measure what drives variation in fish movement and availability as prey at the Salamander floating wind site, 35 km from Peterhead on Scotland’s east coast.

The package has now been deployed on the Salamander floating wind site, as was committed to during the project’s Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas (INTOG) bid. Devices including a fluorometer and echosounder are compiling data on fish presence and behavior for a research program managed by the University of the Highlands and Islands’ Environmental Research Institute and the University of Aberdeen.

Once the multi-year program has finished, all equipment will be removed.

Tom Brown, Salamander’s innovation manager, said the partners were seeking to develop a deeper understanding of fish migration patterns and how these can be better monitored.

“The goal is to improve siting of offshore wind farms to minimize any impact on fish and their predators,” Brown said.

In May, the partnership in the 10-MW project submitted an offshore consents application to the Scottish government.