Synthesis of the Science Workshop: Day 1 Summary

Abstract

In the late afternoon of 14 October and for a full day on 15 October, as many as 358 participants engaged on-line in the first of three full days of Synthesis of the Science (SoS) on interactions between offshore wind development and fisheries. The first afternoon included keynote speakers from the SoS sponsors including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Bureau of Oceans Energy Management (BOEM), and the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA). As well, Andrew Gill from the United Kingdom’s Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science provided a kick-off key note address. 

For the full day on 15 October, the agenda was broken out into panel or speaker presentations, followed by questions and answers. Such Q&A was conducted verbally, via the Chat function in Zoom, and via an on-line tool called Mentimeter. The results of all such dialogue are captured below for the plenary discussions and additional written comments are captured in an appendix for all comments made in the Chat or Mentimeter. A glossary of acronyms is also included in an Appendix. 

The substantive topics covered on this day included:

  • Benthic habitat modification
  • Physical habitat modification
  • Physical process modification
  • Finfish, shellfish, and community interactions

The day also included several breakout discussions. The first breakout topics included:

  1. Benthic Habitat: Fisheries Approaches and Opportunities
  2. Of Hammers and Hammerheads: Effects of EMF and Sound on Marine Life
  3. Not to Mix It Up, But Let's Talk about the Cold Pool
  4. Living in a New Material World: Assessing Changes with Presence of Structures
  5. The Matter of Migration: HMS, Small Pelagics, Anadromous Fish, and Others Who Roam

The second breakout topics included:

  1. Interim Report of ROSA's Monitoring Working Group
  2. Getting Physical (Oceanography) with Fishermen: Incorporating Traditional Knowledge in Research
  3. Case Study in Cumulative Stressors: Squid
  4. From the Turbine to the Region: Scaling Up to Population Level Effects

View the Day 2 Summary here.

View the Day 3 Summary here.