South Fork Wind Farm Fisheries Monitoring
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, in partnership with local fishermen, is conducting pre-construction, construction, and post-construction fisheries monitoring surveys of the South Fork Wind Offshore Wind Farm near Cox's Ledge. The South Fork Wind Farm (SFWF) is an offshore wind energy project located in federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf. It includes up to 15 wind turbine generators, submarine cables between turbines and an offshore substation.
DATA COLLECTION STRATEGY:
Monitoring is conducted aboard commercial fishing vessels using a variety of methods methods targeting different fish and invertebrate species in the area. Click on the links below to learn more about each of the surveys.
Beam Trawl Survey: This survey started in October 2020 and will help determine the spatial scale of potential impacts on the abundance and distribution of benthic species in the development area and two control areas. Sampling is conducted monthly year-round and will continue through 2026.
Ventless Trap Survey: This survey started in May 2021 and is designed to assess the seasonal abundance, distribution, movement, and habitat use of lobster and Jonah crab in the South Fork Wind area and two reference control areas to the east and west of Cox ledge. Sampling is conducted twice per month from May through November and will run through 2026.
Gillnet Survey: This survey started in May 2021 and was designed to assess the seasonal abundance and distribution of monkfish and winter skate in the South Fork Wind area and two reference control areas to the east and west of Cox Ledge. Sampling was conducted twice per month from April-June and October-December in 2021 and 2022; this survey was conducted in the pre-construction phase only.
Fish Pot Survey: This survey started in June 2021 and is designed to determine the spatial scale of potential impacts on the abundance and distribution of structure-associated finfish species due to the construction of wind turbines and the new structure they may provide. Sampling is conducted once per month June through December and will continue through 2026.
Mechanical Jigging Survey: This survey started in 2023 and was designed to fill in gaps after the end of the gillnet survey. It will continue through 2026.
Acoustic Monitoring Survey: This survey started in 2024 to determine the spatial scale to which turbine foundations provide habitat for structure-associated species and how this differs from areas without windfarms.
interactive environmental data portal
Several of the SFWF surveys include environmental data collection via CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) sensors. This data is now publicly available through our interactive data portal, available here.
