Fishermen FAQs

The latest survey work and related activity is found on our website. During 2023 multiple vessels will conduct geophysical & geotechnical (G&G) surveys to characterize the ocean floor conditions within federal and state waters to help advance the project’s engineering design.

We are committed to clearly communicating our marine operations to our fellow ocean users, community members, and other maritime partners.

Sign up to receive emails on vessel activity in the lease area and along the cable corridor.

Our Fisheries Manager is available via phone and email for your feedback and to answer questions and provide additional information. We also jointly host with other offshore wind developers, in person monthly Port Hours in New Bedford, MA and Narragansett, RI.

A seven-year-long study, the first of its kind in the United States, titled, “Demersal fish and invertebrate catches relative to construction and operation of North America’s first offshore wind farm,” was published in the peer reviewed ICES Journal of Marine Science March 2022. The study’s purpose was to conduct a Before-After-Control-Impact experiment for fish assemblages in and around the Block Island Wind Farm area.The study was paid for by the wind farm developers because Rhode Island coastal regulators mandated it.

Researchers examined data collected between 2012 and 2019 from monthly trips to the offshore wind farm, where regular sampling occurred onboard a commercial fishing vessel towing a trawl net. The study tracked relative catches of fish in the area of development before, during, and after construction, as well as at two “control” sites in proximity to the wind farm.

Researchers found that the Block Island Wind Farm had no significant impact on relative catches in the area of development or the two control sites, and in many cases, the relative catches were higher within the wind farm area. This includes species that are commonly targeted by both commercial and recreational fishermen, such as black sea bass, cod, scup, and other bottom dwelling species. This finding is consistent with other studies that have shown that establishing artificial reefs (i.e., wind turbine foundations) provides structures that many fish species seek out for shelter and foraging.

SouthCoast Wind is developing Fisheries Monitoring Plans (FMPs) that are designed to track the relative abundance and catch of fish and invertebrate species commonly targeted by commercial and recreational fishermen in the project area. In partnership with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) and INSPIRE Environmental, marine scientists and commercial fishermen will collaborate to sample the offshore lease area and inshore areas where the export cable is expected to be routed. Sampling will occur before, during, and after construction to assess the longer-term effects of development of the project area.

Yes, recent experimental research has shown that the submerged parts of wind turbine foundations act as artificial reefs, providing new structures that many fish species seek out for foraging and shelter from prey. The use of artificial reefs has been a tool used by fisheries managers in the past to bolster fish stocks, and the underwater structure provided by wind turbine foundations has shown increases in relative abundance of fish and invertebrates both within the region (i.e., Block Island Wind Farm) and abroad (wind areas in the UK).

A seven year-long monitoring of fish and lobsters at the Block Island Wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island was conducted by Dr. Drew Carey, INSPIRE’s CEO, who collaborated with an international group of scientists to prepare a paper on how Offshore Wind Farm Artificial Reefs Affect Ecosystem Structure and Functioning: A Synthesis.

Additional information available:
Research funded by the Rhode Island Sea Grant Project

Yes. Following U.S. Coast Guard guidance, temporary safety zones will be established around active construction areas. SouthCoast Wind will communicate the timing and location of on-the-water operations with commercial and recreational fishermen through regular mariners’ notices and via direct communication, including information on safety zones.

Turbines will be visible on AIS and labeled on charts. Uniform numbering and labeling of turbines will be consistent across MA/RI lease areas to provide location within the wind farms.

We are committed to safety and responsible operations during the development, construction, and operation of the project.

Yes. SouthCoast Wind will work with fishermen to avoid vessel and gear interactions and(or) gear loss issues within the safety zones that are establishing during the construction period. Fishermen will also be compensated for lost fishing opportunity during the construction and operations phases (more details will be made available).

If you are a fisherman and you feel that you have lost or damaged fishing gear due to SouthCoast Wind offshore activities, please email or call our Fisheries Manager (see contact information above) and download our Gear Loss Claim Application Form.

In June 2022, as part of its efforts to ensure that offshore renewable energy development occurs in a thoughtful manner that minimizes conflicts with other ocean users, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced the availability of draft guidance on mitigating potential impacts of offshore wind development on commercial and recreational fishing. The draft guidance provides detailed processes and methodologies to the offshore wind industry and lessees to mitigate impacts to fisheries in project siting, design, navigation, access, safety, and financial compensation.

In alignment with BOEM guidance, SouthCoast Wind has worked collaboratively with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) to conduct an economic exposure analysis, which serves as the basis for the fisheries mitigation plan. This analysis will consider the displacement of fishing effort in the lease area and along the export cable corridor during and after construction, and during the decommissioning phase.

As of June 2024, SouthCoast Wind has provided a compensatory mitigation package to the State of Rhode Island based on the data provided by the WHOI economic exposure analysis.

The lease area is located over 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 20 miles south of Nantucket. The project will occupy the 199-square mile (or over 127,000 acres) lease area, which was awarded through a competitive auction by BOEM.

There are many state and federal entities overseeing SouthCoast Wind’s construction and operations from the USCG, BOEM, and NOAA Fisheries, among others.

SouthCoast Wind has collected extensive geophysical data and benthic survey ground-truth data to support the mapping and characterization of benthic habitats within the Project Area. SouthCoast Wind is siting marine cables based on this field data collection, analysis, and mapping of the physical and biological characteristics of the seabed and is engineering the cable route to minimize bottom disturbance, avoid sensitive resources and to reach target burial depths to the extent practicable.

Additional information can be found in the Construction and Information Plan.

Construction of the wind farm, including all onshore and offshore components, will take approximately 3 – 4 years to complete. SouthCoast Wind’s indicative construction schedule can be found in the Construction and Operations Plan: See figure 3-6.

Trench width is expected to be approximately 3.5 feet for each cable and cables will be buried at a target depth of 6 feet, ranging from 3 – 13 feet depending upon benthic conditions such as boulders, etc. Cable installation equipment can temporarily disturb a 3.5-6.5-foot-wide area on the seafloor.

If a sufficient burial depth cannot be reached there are different cable protection methods that can be used such as:

• Rock placement: laying rocks on top of the cable to provide protection.
  Concrete mattresses: prefabricated flexible concrete coverings that are laid on top of the cable.
• Half-shell pipes: two halves are fixed around the cable to provide mechanical protection.

Export cables will be installed in accordance with state and federal time of year restrictions to reduce conflict with commercial fishing activity and sensitive fish spawning seasons.