Effects Research of Offshore Wind Form Construction and Operation on Fishery Resources Community Structure and Spatial Distribution

Abstract

Offshore wind forms (OWF), as frontier fields of new energy, are developing rapidly. However, the potential impacts of large-scale development of OWF on marine ecology remain unclear. To assess the effects of construction and operation of OWF on fishery resource, surveys were conducted in the Guishan OWF, 2021. The community structure, dominant species, species replacement ratio, resource density and spatial distribution of fishery resource both in construction, operation and surrounding areas were analyzed before and after construction of the OWF. The results showed that 84, 88, 105 and 99 species mainly including fish and crustaceans were identified in July, August, September and December, respectively. The species replacement ratios were 41.0%~93.4% between any two surveys. The Shannon-Wiener index and richness index in December were the maximum values; the highest Pielou index was in July. Compared with the baseline, the construction of OWF changed the structure of community and dominant species, decreased the fishery biodiversity and resource density. There is an artificial reef effect in the pile foundations of OWF. This study will provide the basic data and decision guidance for the long-term effects of construction and operation of OWF on fishery resource.

Keywords

• fishery resource
• community diversity
• dominant species
• ecological environment
• offshore wind form