Assessing Impacts Of Offshore Wind Farms On Fishers And Fish Catch PDF

ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF OFFSHORE WIND FARMS ON FISHERS AND THE FISH THEY CATCH Mike Mackie August 2024 rpsgroup.com  OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY DCCEEW has identified 6 offshore wind zones – 2 in Victoria (Gippsland and the Southern Ocean), 2 in NSW (Newcastle and Illawarra), 1 in Bass Strait,...

ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF OFFSHORE WIND FARMS ON FISHERS AND THE FISH THEY CATCH Mike Mackie August 2024 rpsgroup.com  OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY DCCEEW has identified 6 offshore wind zones – 2 in Victoria (Gippsland and the Southern Ocean), 2 in NSW (Newcastle and Illawarra), 1 in Bass Strait, Tassie, and 1 off Bunbury in WA.  have strong and consistent winds  are close to areas of high electricity demand  have existing electricity transmission infrastructure  have existing transport and port infrastructure  industry is interested in developing projects in these areas. 2  DECLARED AREAS These 6 proposed wind farm area have/are/will be released for comment government agencies, industry, community groups, individuals etc Final ‘Declared Area’ typically quite different from the proposed… Draft Bunbury area: 7,674 km2 Consultation ended 3 May 20 km from Cape Nat and Bunbury 3  OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY If an area is ‘declared’, developers can apply for a feasibility licence, which allows: - Detailed environmental assessments - Geotechnical surveys - Obtain approvals - Undertake further consultation - 6 -10 yrs later (and fingers crossed) – awarded a commercial licence to construct, operate and decommission the wind farm Gippsland DA: - 15,000km2 - Potential power generation: 25 GW - SOTS – 2.2 GW - ~ 1.2 million homes - Up to 20% of Victoria’s electricity 4 OFFSHORE WIND FARM 5 OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY Its all renewables – so that’s good, right? 6 IMPACT ASSESSMENT… Need to know: 1. Details of the wind farm  Where, how many and how big are the turbines, how long will it take to construct, floating or fixed, cables buried or covered etc 2. Details of the ‘existing environment’ (eg for fisheries and fish)  Which fisheries are legally able to fish in the area… and which ones actually do so  Which fish that they target/catch are in the area 3. How does (1) impact (2) – and what can we do to avoid/minimise the impacts 7 IMPACTS TO FISHERS… o Loss of fishing ground. o Increased operational costs o Lost or decreased catches. 8 IMPACTS TO FISH… – Susceptibility to wind farm activities and infrastructure vary, for example: o Site-attached species and species with swim bladders are likely to be most impacted by noise emissions. o Species that prefer sediment-based habitat may be most impacted by habitat change resulting from installation of project infrastructure (some species may benefit). o Site-attached and benthic sharks, rays and invertebrates may be most impacted by electromagnetic interference from transmission cables. o Species targeted by commercial and recreational fishers may be most impacted by changes in fishing activity. 9  LEARNING ABOUT THE EXISTING ENVIRONMENT: REVIEW OF FISHERIES DATA State and Commonwealth fishers First of all identify which fisheries are legally able to fish in the area of the proposed wind farm Then identify which of these actually do fish in the area - 10  LEARNING ABOUT THE EXISTING ENVIRONMENT: BASELINE SURVEYS OF FISH The key data to meet objectives are: Species presence Spatial pattern (vertical and horizontal plane) Temporal pattern Proxy for abundance Priority species Indicator species, indicator groups Species diversity Combine with ecological, biological and other relevant literature to provide a more complete picture (species distribution, spawning/migration season, stock/population area etc) 11 FISH… Many species Overall and seasonal/spatial differences in abundance Diverse ecology and biology Diverse use of the wind farm area Various targeted by fishers or bycatch Various protected under state or Commonwealth legislation – Some with species specific stock rebuilding strategies and recovery plans International considerations – UN Convention on Biological Diversity; IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Species of potential cultural importance Species of concern to other stakeholders – eg Victorian National Parks Association 12 CHOICE OF SURVEY METHOD AND DESIGN Considers: o Overseas experience o Australian context  NESP Field Manuals for Marine Sampling in Australian Waters  Liaison with SMEs (eg white shark monitoring)  Information from fishers  Previous experience… 13  SURVEY METHODS Benthic Stereo Baited Remote Underwater Video (SBRUV) – Baseline description of the demersal fish resource present during summer and winter 2024 within and near the wind farm area – Each survey: 130 sites in 12 days across the ‘fish study area’ (nominally 700 km2 – wind farm area with 5 km buffer) – Data: Season/depth/habitat structured analysis of species presence and relative abundance (MaxN), and species richness – Additional: temperature and light intensity – Informed by interviews with commercial fishers – Broad range of species, results can be compared with future monitoring. 14  SURVEY METHODS Environmental DNA (eDNA) – Baseline evidence of fish presence, including rare or cryptic species of conservation importance, during summer and winter within and near the wind farm area (including syngnathids and Australian grayling) – Each survey: Same as SBRUV. Seawater used for analysis will be collected prior to deployment of SBRUVs. Considerable variation in eDNA concentrations within and between sampling sites is expected and requires the collection of multiple samples across the area of interest. – Broad range of species, results can be compared with future monitoring. 15  SURVEY METHODS Passive acoustic monitoring of tagged white sharks – Description of the seasonal presence, number and movement patterns of acoustically tagged white sharks within and near the wind farm area – Deployment of acoustic receivers across a minimum of two summers (~ October 2023 – April/May 2025) – Data: arrival time, residence time and characteristics of detected sharks, including relationship with sex, age class, depth strata and water temperature. – Informed by interviews with commercial fishers – Results can be compared with future monitoring. 16  SURVEY METHODS Integrated Pelagic Baited Remote Underwater Video (PBRUV) and echo sounder – Baseline description of the pelagic fish resource present in summer within and near the wind farm area – Target 40 sites in 10 days across the fish study area during summer when key pelagic species are expected to be most abundant (especially baitfish, yellowtail kingfish and southern bluefin tuna) – Data: Depth/habitat structured description of pelagic fish life including species presence and relative abundance (MaxN), and number of discrete schools. – Additional: temperature – Informed by interviews with commercial fishers – Range of species, results can be compared with future monitoring. 17  SURVEY METHODS Recreational boat ramp survey – Preliminary description of recreational fishing activity within and near the wind farm area – Pre-survey desktop assessment and consultation with fishers/peak bodies, followed by survey at select boat ramps across a five-day period of recreational fishing activity 18  SURVEY METHODS Other data sources – Fisheries-dependent (eg gillnet or Danish seine) – Aerial survey data – provides info on surface schools/fish (eg sunfish) and fishing activity in the area – Fisher interviews – CSIRO SEA-MES study (2023/26) 19  MINIMISING THE IMPACTS… To fish (eg): – Reducing noise emissions from piling eg by using bubble curtains o Requires modelling of noise emissions – Burying the cable to reduce EMF – Minimise construction activities during the spawning period To fishers (eg): – Minimise impacts on their target species – Good communication so they can plan their fishing activities – Don’t lock the area up – Provide alternative work opportunities or compensation 20 21