Offshore wind farms act as de facto marine reserves

Journal Article

Title: Offshore wind farms act as de facto marine reserves

Author:

Fitkov-Norris, B.; Witt, M.; Simmons, B.

Publication Date:

September 10, 2025

Journal:

Science of The Total Environment

Volume:

994

Pages:

179973

Publisher:

Elsevier

Affiliation

University of Exeter

Technology:

Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind

Receptor:

Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries

Language:

English

Document Access

Website:

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Attachment:

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Citation

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RIS

Fitkov-Norris, B.; Witt, M.; Simmons, B. (2025). Offshore wind farms act as de facto marine reserves. Science of The Total Environment, 994, 179973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179973

@article{Fitkov-Norris-2025-,
author = {Fitkov-Norris, B and Witt, M and Simmons, B},
title = {Offshore wind farms act as de facto marine reserves},
journal = {Science of The Total Environment},
year = {2025},
month = {sep},
publisher = {Elsevier},
volume = {994},
pages = {179973},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179973},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969725016134},
keywords = {Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries},
}

Export Citation to BibTex

TY - JOUR
TI - Offshore wind farms act as de facto marine reserves
AU - Fitkov-Norris, B
AU - Witt, M
AU - Simmons, B
T2 - Science of The Total Environment
AB - Marine biodiversity faces increasing threats, necessitating effective conservation strategies beyond just marine protected areas. As offshore wind farms (OWFs) expand to meet the demand for renewable energy, these could offer an additional benefit by restricting fishing, one of the greatest threats to marine ecosystems globally. However, this remains untested at scale. Here we assessed the impact of OWF construction on fishing effort across 34 European OWFs from 2016 to 2022. Our findings reveal a significant reduction in overall fishing effort up to 2.5 km beyond OWF borders. Seiners and trawlers are most restricted (up to 4.2 km and 3.7 km respectively), while fixed gear and dredge fisheries showed no significant reduction. These results highlight the de facto exclusionary effect of OWFs on fishing, extending well beyond their boundaries. This restrictive effect could be strategically leveraged to support marine conservation efforts, particularly in areas where conventional fisheries management has been insufficient.
DA - 2025/09//
PY - 2025
PB - Elsevier
VL - 994
SP - 179973
UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969725016134
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179973
LA - English
KW - Wind Energy
KW - Fixed Offshore Wind
KW - Fish
KW - Human Dimensions
KW - Fisheries
ER -

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Abstract

Marine biodiversity faces increasing threats, necessitating effective conservation strategies beyond just marine protected areas. As offshore wind farms (OWFs) expand to meet the demand for renewable energy, these could offer an additional benefit by restricting fishing, one of the greatest threats to marine ecosystems globally. However, this remains untested at scale. Here we assessed the impact of OWF construction on fishing effort across 34 European OWFs from 2016 to 2022. Our findings reveal a significant reduction in overall fishing effort up to 2.5 km beyond OWF borders. Seiners and trawlers are most restricted (up to 4.2 km and 3.7 km respectively), while fixed gear and dredge fisheries showed no significant reduction. These results highlight the de facto exclusionary effect of OWFs on fishing, extending well beyond their boundaries. This restrictive effect could be strategically leveraged to support marine conservation efforts, particularly in areas where conventional fisheries management has been insufficient.