How much is known about the ecology of the northeast coastal marine systems to apply to making offshore wind as safe as possible? Is there more to be learned and how will that be paid for?
At a Glance:
Interest in learning about marine ecosystems of New England began in the 1930s. Since then, key research capacity has developed in our oceanographic institutes, universities and state divisions of fisheries science. As you might imagine, a wealth of basic knowledge has accumulated for species from plankton to whales. The sources of funding for these historic studies were broad, coming from federal and state government grants. This knowledge has been further developed by studying species responses to the Block Island wind farm using before and after assessments, funded by federal, state and industry grants.
This video gives an insider’s view of how scientists work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1cw-DkE_AM
You will see how marine scientists took full advantage of the Block Island Wind Farm to learn about impacts of offshore wind. This understanding is critical to building the next wave of offshore wind turbines with minimal downsides. In fact, what they learned about sound from pile driving is the reason that this process must be accompanied by whale spotters and is stopped when whales are seen.
A Deeper Dive:
Nationally, NOAA Fisheries has an impressive record of effort spanning 50 years to assess, manage and protect the status of approximately:
450 fishery stocks
200 marine mammal stocks
165 threatened and endangered species (recognizing that some marine mammals are also endangered)
As new information is acquired, there can be course corrections and improved mitigation of impacts as needed. This is science operating at its best, using what is already known about a topic with new information to revise the original understanding. We now have the opportunity for planning, siting and mitigating impacts of the offshore wind farms being built off the New England Coast. For example, scientists at the University of Rhode Island and NOAA will be working together, integrating prior knowledge with new information. The goal is for responsible development of offshore wind.