Abstract
Empire Offshore Wind LLC (Empire) proposes to construct and operate an offshore wind farm located in the designated Renewable Energy Lease Area OCS-A 0512. The Empire Wind Lease Area covers approximately 79,350 acres (32,112 hectares) and is located approximately 14 statute miles (mi) (12 nautical miles [nm], 22 kilometers [km]) south of Long Island, New York and 19.5 mi (16.9 nm, 31.4 km) east of Long Branch, New Jersey (Figure 1-1). The Empire Wind Lease Area will be developed as two wind farms, known as Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2, which will consist of up to 174 wind turbines. Monitoring efforts are combined for the proposed wind farms, covering the entire Empire Wind Lease Area as described in the Empire Wind Fisheries and Benthic Monitoring Plan (FBMP) (INSPIRE Environmental 2023a). The results provided in this report pertain to samples collected across the entire Empire Wind Lease Area.
The New York Bight supports diverse fish and invertebrate assemblages (Guida et al. 2017; Thorne et al. 2020; NJDEP 2022). Fisheries monitoring was designed to assess potential impacts of construction and operation activities within the Empire Wind Lease Area on these biological communities. A monitoring plan was developed in accordance with recommendations made by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) Guidelines for Providing Information on Fisheries for Renewable Energy Development on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (BOEM 2019), New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan: Fish and Fisheries Study (NYSERDA 2017), and the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance’s (ROSA’s) Offshore Wind Project Monitoring Framework and Guidelines (ROSA 2021). This FBMP was created using an iterative process with the Empire Wind team coordinating with regional fishing organizations, working groups, and individual fishermen. In addition, through the permitting and development process the Empire Wind team consulted with state and federal fisheries resource management agencies and solicited feedback directly from stakeholders. Due in part to the concerns of local fishing interests, one component of the FBMP (INSPIRE Environmental 2023a) is a survey designed to document the distribution and abundance of Atlantic sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) in the Empire Wind Lease Area and at a designated reference location during baseline, construction, and post construction time periods.