Abstract
Acoustic hydrophones, or receivers, passively record the presence and relative abundance of animals tagged with acoustic transmitters. Detection data are used to calculate periods of presence and absence, residency (time spent in regions), and movement rates of animals within monitored regions. The focal fish species tagged in this study include those of ecological, commercial and recreational significance. These include, but are not limited to, the federally endangered Atlantic sturgeon, federally prohibited coastal sharks (e.g., dusky shark [Carcharhinus obscurus], sand tiger [Carcharias taurus], and sandbar shark [Carcharhinus plumbeus]), and other elasmobranchs (e.g., winter skate [Leucoraja ocellata], smooth dogfish [Mustelus canis], and spiny dogfish [Squalus acanthias]). Additionally, commercially and recreational valuable finfish species – such as winter flounder, summer flounder, black sea bass, striped bass, and tautog (Tautoga onitis), will be tagged, along with highly migratory species (HMS) including bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) and the shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus). Acoustic tags, or transmitters, have an operating life of two to ten years (depending on transmitter size appropriate for each species) and can provide successful long-term data collection for decision-making activities. This acoustic telemetry study complements an existing regional infrastructure of acoustic telemetry arrays that are currently deployed by state, federal, and academic institutions and include detection coverage in and around the Project Area. Monmouth University is collaborating with INSPIRE Environmental Inc. (INSPIRE) to deploy acoustic receivers as well as tag and monitor a variety of focal fish species identified for the Empire Wind acoustic telemetry study.
This report documents the first (2023) and second (2024) years of pre-construction acoustic telemetry monitoring in the Project Area to satisfy the following goals of providing:
- Site-specific information about commercially and recreationally important fish species baseline movements, usage, and residency patterns.
- Baseline data to be used to examine potential spatial and/or temporal shifts in fish movements and usage patterns that may be associated with offshore wind construction or operation activities.
The acoustic telemetry study detailed in the FBMP includes two years of monitoring prior to offshore construction, two years sampling during construction, and two years of post-construction monitoring in accordance with the guidance of NYSERDA (NYSERDA 2017) and ROSA (ROSA 2021). In addition, the use of acoustic telemetry to census a select number of marine fishes aligns with existing guidelines and best practices for offshore wind fisheries monitoring from BOEM and ROSA (BOEM 2023; ROSA 2021). This method meets ROSA’s objectives by providing a reliable index of changes in community composition while having a minimal impact on fisheries, as it is a no-take method.