NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced the availability of new tools established to provide information about the effects of proposed Atlantic offshore wind energy projects on fisheries and fishing communities. NMFS noted that there are currently over 16 wind energy areas stretching from Maine to North Carolina that could ultimately lead to the installation of over 2,100 turbines by 2029.
Information accessible through the data tools includes the amount of individual species landed, landing revenue, gear types used, number of vessels fishing, number of fishing trips, and communities affected.
NMFS notes that current data tools will be further developed in light of public input and ongoing efforts to incorporate other sources of data, with work currently underway to integrate party/charter vessel logbook data and data that fish for highly migratory species and species managed in the South Atlantic.
