MATOS - Mid-Atlantic Acoustic Telemetry Observation System

Project Title: Connectivity, Movement, and Distribution of Fish in Offshore Wind Farm Areas

MATOS Project Code: BIWF23

Data Type: Data

Project Duration: May 2023 - November 2024

Project Description: Offshore wind turbines provide a complex three-dimensional habitat that introduce marine growth and impact ecosystem structure. This project aims to determine the individual and additive impacts of multiple wind turbine structures by evaluating connectivity between turbines, the vertical reef effect of turbines, and fish distribution near the turbines in the horizontal spatial scale. We employ underwater camera methods and acoustic tagging of three commercially and recreationally important species (striped bass, black sea bass, and summer flounder) to assess the connectivity, movement, and spatial distribution of fish in the Block Island Wind Farm area.

Objectives:

To determine individual and additive impacts of multiple turbine structures to fish

Management Benefits:

This project will be valuable for stakeholders (i.e., fishermen, windfarm operators, managers)

Principal Investigator:	Pingguo He (UMass Dartmouth - School for Marine Science & Technology)
Email:	phe@umassd.edu

Point of Contact:	Alison Frey
Email:	afrey2@umassd.edu

Funding:

BOEM

SMAST Block Island Wind Farm