Earlier this summer, BOEM's Office of Renewable Energy Programs awarded more than $950,000 in projects advancing the study of fish habitat use and migration offshore New York, Delaware, and Maryland using acoustic telemetry. Projects awarded are the following.
- Monitoring Endangered Atlantic Sturgeon and Commercial Finfish Habitat Use Offshore New York
- Occurrence of Commercially Important and Endangered Fishes in Delaware Wind Energy Area using Acoustic Telemetry
- Movement and Habitat Selection by Migratory Fishes within the Maryland Wind Energy Area and Adjacent Sites
The telemetry networks being deployed under these studies are in deeper water and farther offshore than previous projects in the mid-Atlantic. The data from the new arrays will be coordinated with the global Ocean Tracking Network and its mid-Atlantic node, which tracks more than 100 keystone, commercially important and endangered species offshore 20 countries in 16 ocean regions.
In combination with $620,000 in funding awarded for fish telemetry studies off Virginia in 2015, BOEM has invested more than $1.5 million in fish telemetry research in the mid-Atlantic. These studies will advance BOEM's understanding of how fish use offshore habitat and inform siting of future offshore wind structures (e.g., foundations and cables). The results can help provide information on seasonal movement as well as habitat affinity of different species.
Ensuring that renewable energy resources are developed in a responsible manner is a priority for BOEM. BOEM's Environmental Studies Program provides support for this effort by funding studies that inventory and compile available information, identify knowledge gaps, and analyze potential impacts to natural and cultural resources from offshore renewable energy development.
Tracey Moriarty
Office of Public Affairs (Offshore Renewable Energy)
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Tel: (703) 787-1571
Cell: (202) 304-6476