Offshore wind farms are controversial because of their potentially negative effects on the marine living environment. But as is now evident, they also have positive effects on the sea environment: the foundations of the offshore wind farms act like artificial reefs and therefore offer fish communities new habitat. The composition of the fish stocks differs depending on the location and construction of the wind turbines, as examinations in the German bay show.
Offshore wind farms off the German coast produce sustainable energy without greenhouse gas emissions with their wind turbines and are therefore an important pillar in the energy transition. Because they help to secure our energy supply. But how do the structures influence the marine ecosystem?
Researchers around Vanessa Stelzenmüller from the Thünen Institute for Sea Fisheries in Bremerhaven have examined one aspect of these potential effects using an offshore wind farm of the operator Northland Power. The North Sea One wind farm is located north of Norderney in the southern German bay. Through underwater cameras, they analyzed which fish species live in the area of the plant foundations. “We can
