Offshore Wind Power Projects in the Great Lakes - Ministry of ...

Offshore wind power projects in the Great Lakes: Background information and science considerations for
fish and fish habitat
8. Conclusions
Here we have presented the second of two science-based reports prepared by the Aquatic
Research and Development Section of the OMNR for the Renewable Energy Program as part of
a literature review-based project relating to offshore wind developments and effects on fish and
fish habitat. In our first report, we identified the potential effects of offshore wind power projects
in the Great Lakes on fish and their habitats. To our knowledge this represented one of the first
extensive assessments of offshore wind effects focussed on freshwater ecosystems to date.
Through a synthesis of the existing scientific and grey literature—reflecting for the most part the
European experience with marine offshore wind developments—combined with knowledge of
Great Lakes ecosystems and fish biology, we concluded that offshore wind facilities in the Great
Lakes could have a number of effects, some negative and some positive, to fish and fish habitat.
However, upon review it also became apparent that the probability, the spatial and temporal
extent, and the significance of many of these effects for individual species, aquatic communities
and especially the Great Lakes ecosystem remain uncertain.
Moving beyond a catalogue of potential effects, the purpose of this report was to examine the
options available to monitor, quantify and better predict the effects identified in the first report,
and to evaluate different strategies not only for avoiding or minimizing negative impacts but also
for enhancing the potential benefits within a Great Lakes-specific context. Acknowledging the
high level of uncertainty that currently exist in predicting effects—especially indirect,
cumulative and long-term effects—we highlight the role that adaptive management and a
precautionary approach can play in informing future offshore wind development in the Great
Lakes. Finally, we have listed some of the key knowledge gaps in our understanding of potential
impacts of offshore wind power projects on Great Lakes fish and fish habitat, focussing on the
need to share and disseminate knowledge as it is gained, and indicating priority areas for future
research. In fact, the need for more research in this field cannot be expressed enough.
Given that the current state of knowledge related to ecological effects of offshore wind in the
Great Lakes is based largely upon desk-top studies or literature reviews, many of the potential
effects of offshore wind power projects to fish and fish habitat cannot be predicted with certainty
Aquatic Research and Development Section 100