TY - GEN

T1 - Small‐scale distribution of fish in offshore windfarms

A1 - Hansen,Kamilla Sande

A1 - Stenberg,Claus

A1 - Møller,Peter Rask

AU - Hansen,Kamilla Sande

AU - Stenberg,Claus

AU - Møller,Peter Rask

PB - International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)

CY - Copenhagen

PY - 2012

Y1 - 2012

N2 - Knowledge about small‐scale distribution of fish around turbines in offshore windfarms (OWF) remains relatively scarce. In the present study we used underwater video camera installations to access abundance of fish at 0, 25, and 50 m around the turbine foundations in Middelgrund and Lillgrund OWFs in Øresund between Denmark and Sweden in the period August–November 2011. <br/>Fish fauna in both localities were dominated in terms of numbers by two‐spotted gobies (Gobiusculus flavescens). Average number of fish observed per hour was a factor 100 higher at Lillgrund and a factor of 2 higher at Middelgrund at 0 m from the turbine compared to 25 and 50 m away. At Lillgrund sediment was dominated by bare sand while Middelgrund had more heterogeneous sediment types with sand, boulder, pebbles, and dense eelgrass areas. This suggests that OWFs in areas with homogeneous sand sediment have a higher impact on fish fauna compared to OWFs in areas with heterogeneous sediment. Furthermore, the effect of OWFs on fish appears to be of a much smaller scale than previously thought

AB - Knowledge about small‐scale distribution of fish around turbines in offshore windfarms (OWF) remains relatively scarce. In the present study we used underwater video camera installations to access abundance of fish at 0, 25, and 50 m around the turbine foundations in Middelgrund and Lillgrund OWFs in Øresund between Denmark and Sweden in the period August–November 2011. <br/>Fish fauna in both localities were dominated in terms of numbers by two‐spotted gobies (Gobiusculus flavescens). Average number of fish observed per hour was a factor 100 higher at Lillgrund and a factor of 2 higher at Middelgrund at 0 m from the turbine compared to 25 and 50 m away. At Lillgrund sediment was dominated by bare sand while Middelgrund had more heterogeneous sediment types with sand, boulder, pebbles, and dense eelgrass areas. This suggests that OWFs in areas with homogeneous sand sediment have a higher impact on fish fauna compared to OWFs in areas with heterogeneous sediment. Furthermore, the effect of OWFs on fish appears to be of a much smaller scale than previously thought

UR - http://ices.dk/products/CMdocs/CM-2012/O/O1112.pdf

BT - ICES CM 2012/O:11

T2 - ICES CM 2012/O:11

ER -