• OSW Fisheries + Biodiversity Research: Scientific Evaluation of Ecological Scour Protection

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    Dr. Yaeli Rosenberg, Head of Biology at ECOncrete will present initial results from a 2-year biological survey conducted to better understand the ecological impact of scour protection. Research teams from Stony Brook University (New York) are monitoring the biodiversity development, focusing on the change in population and fish diversity associated with the structure. This research is supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

    This webinar will provide valuable insights to support Oceantic members and the industry in their effort to: 

    • Use nature-inclusive design (NID) principles for scour protection and cable protection in OSW facilities; 
    • Comply with regulatory environmental requirements and enhance marine biodiversity while meeting structural infrastructure integrity;
    • Bolster a positive impact on fisheries and create greater coexistence with local stakeholders and ocean users; 
    • Apply locally sourced scour protection and cable protection measures to comply with domestic and local content requirements and new industry standards. 

    Additional Details 

    The survey evaluates the environmental impact of ecologically engineered scour protection compared to standard materials. The experimental setup consists of 4,500 units with a control site of an equal volume of rock at the Twelve-Mile Reef site in the Atlantic Ocean at 40-meter depth. 

    Monitoring efforts (started in October 2023) are conducted every three months to 1) map the test and control areas using high-resolution multibeam techniques to assess the larger-scale sediment erosion and/or deposition patterns, 2) sample and sequence environmental DNA (eDNA) using four different molecular primers to evaluate biological community structure across all domains of life, and 3) leverage available state and federal data sources to quantify and understand fish biodiversity dynamics via baseline habitat and community models, joined with black sea bass diet composition studies identifying potential shifts in localized fish assemblages.

    The results help better understand how these novel scour protection materials are behaving and evolving in the marine environment and what effect they have on the evolution of the nearby seabed. This allows us to have a deeper understanding of the impact of ecologically designed structures on marine biodiversity and what the implications are for offshore wind development going forward.

    The project has clear and inherently sustainable benefits providing the U.S. supply chain with new locally sourced scour protection and cable protection measures, serving to decrease the ecological footprint of offshore wind infrastructure on the marine ecosystem and benefit fisheries.