Fish Intel: Monitoring pelagic fish

FISH INTEL: monitoring pelagic fish

As part of the Interreg France (Channel) England FISH INTEL programme, officially launched on May 2021, France Energies Marines will be collecting data to better understand how pelagic fish are affected by ORE farms.

The aim of the cross-Channel FISH INTEL programme, officially launched on 10 May 2021, is to gain a better understanding of fish movements, their preferred habitats and the environmental conditions they need to thrive. Focusing on a series of sites along the along the coastlines of southern England, northern France and Belgium, the programme will monitor a number of marine species using acoustic telemetry and underwater video surveys. Sea bass, pollack, bluefin tuna and even crawfish will be monitored by scientists. This project is designed to meet a major challenge: to better assess the impact of fishing, climate change and other human activities in the Channel.

Focus on ORE farms

As a partner in this project, France Energies Marines will examine and identify the effects of offshore wind farms on pelagic fish. The monitoring that will be carried out aims to determine the frequency of fish visits wihtin ORE farms (e.g. site fidelity, residence or passage areas). Indeed, little data is currently available on how pelagic fish are distributed on the Channel coastlines and how they occupy their habitat within ORE zones. Carried out at future ORE sites in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc and Courseulles-sur-Mer, the study will focus on two species: bass and pollack.

Photo credit: Pixabay

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