Offshore Wind Farm Fisheries Impact Analysis 2005-2023

2005 to 2023 retrospective analyses of impacts from four major Danish offshore wind farms on fisheries and benthic habitats. The study uses vessel monitoring system (VMS) and logbook data to analyze vessel-level fishing effort allocation, efficiency, revenues, and landings. It covers pre-, during-, and post-construction phases of wind farms in the North Sea, Kattegat, and Western Baltic Sea.

Use Cases

• Analyze fishing effort reallocation patterns using VMS and logbook data before and after offshore wind farm construction.
• Model the relationship between fishing efficiency, revenues, and benthic habitat fishing grounds for different fishing methods.
• Assess species composition and economic efficiency changes in fishing activity adjacent to offshore wind farm boundaries.
• Study continuity in spatial fishing patterns and gear composition dynamics following offshore wind farm establishment.

Strengths

• Analysis spans 19 years (2005-2023), covering pre-, during-, and post-construction phases of wind farms.
• Focus on four major Danish offshore wind farms totaling more than 2500 MW, including some decommissioned after 25 years.
• Integrates multiple data sources: vessel monitoring system (VMS) and logbook data for vessel-level analysis.

Limitations

• Data is presented in a 1.2 MB PDF report; underlying tabular or spatial datasets are unavailable for direct computational analysis.
• Scope is limited to Danish fisheries and four specific offshore wind farm sites, limiting generalizability to other regions.
• The analysis is retrospective and observational; causal impacts may be confounded by other economic or environmental factors.

Provenance

Source

J. Rasmus Nielsen via figshare

Collection Method

Retrospective analysis using available vessel monitoring system (VMS) and logbook data.

Time Range

2005 to 2023

Freshness

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Geography

Four major Danish offshore wind farms in the North Sea, Kattegat, and Western Baltic Sea.