The Nature Enhancement at Marine Offshore Energy Sites (‘NEMOES’) project saw a team from Glasgow University investigate the role offshore renewable energy structures could play in scaling up restoration in Scottish waters.
The project used precision modelling to predict and investigate marine ecosystem responses to the effects of windfarm installation on the surrounding flora and fauna. Model simulations predicted that benthic invertebrates such as lobsters, velvet crabs, and edible crabs would benefit from the new artificial reef habitats and associated epifauna fouling. However, wider ecosystem impacts varied between sites and were strongly influenced by local ecosystem structure and both regional and local (within the OWF) fishing pressure.
Fishing mortality emerged as the primary constraint on fish biomass increases within the sites. Demersal fish biomass increased substantially within sites where fishing restrictions were applied but this did not always lead to regional biomass increases, especially where fishing effort was just dislocated. Changes in seabird biomass had minimal cascading effects on the wider food web, whereas temporary displacement of marine mammals during construction resulted in localised population impacts, particularly for seals within the models.
In 2023 SMEEF was able to provide a grant of £47,350 to support this work using resources from donations made by businesses to SMEEF.