Abstract
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) and Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) conducted a larval lobster abundance survey in Vineyard Wind’s Lease Area OCS-A 0501, referred to as VW1 Study Area, and an easterly adjacent Control Area (see Figure 1).1
The primary goal of this project was to identify baseline conditions in the VW1 Study Area and Control Area, and to then compare potential impacts on several marine species of proposed wind development activities in the areas between years. To establish a baseline, a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) design was employed to detect eventual patterns of sustained difference.
For the planktonic sampling locations, we employed a random sampling design by stratifying the area of interest using existing lease blocks. Lease blocks within the two study areas – VW1 Study Area and Control Area – were identified and divided into smaller sub-areas called aliquots. An aliquot (within each lease block) was randomly selected and served as a sampling location that held constant throughout the survey season. There were 15 sampling sites selected in the VW1 Study Area and 15 in the Control Area, for a total of 30 stations. At each location plankton, tows were sampled twice per month in May and June 2021 using a towed neuston net.
Larval lobster samples were collected at each location with a neuston net; for the season, we collected seven total lobster larvae ranging from stages one to four. The average larval lobster density was 0.035 larvae per 1,000 cubic meters (m3) in the development area and 0.031 larvae per 1,000m3 in the Control Area. The four sampling periods of the larval lobster abundance survey were completed in May and June 2021. The American lobster, black sea bass, and lobster tagging portion of the study was not completed in 2021 due to delays in receiving the Record of Decision for the Vineyard Wind 1 project from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Therefore, Year 3 of the study provided a baseline comparison to Year 1 and Year 2 on temporal abundance and distribution of lobster larvae in the upper layer of the water column.