Short Science Summary: Collision Risk

Fish

Potential for Animals to be Injured by Turbines: Collision Risk

The presence of marine renewable energy (MRE) devices—particularly the rotating blades of tidal and river turbines—is thought to pose a risk to marine animals. Animals might come into close contact with turbine blades in the course of their natural movements, because they are attracted to the device for purposes of feeding, shelter, or out of curiosity, or because they are not strong enough to avoid currents that might sweep them into the blades.

The concern is that a collision with moving device parts (e.g., turbine blades), a moving device (e.g., tidal kite), or perhaps the stationary part of a device (e.g., foundation) could cause irrevocable injury or death. For animal populations that are under stress for other reasons, such as climate change or other human activities, loss of even a few members due to collision might affect the survivability of the population. The greatest concerns are for marine mammals, especially those in protected or declining populations; commercially and recreationally important fish species; and endangered seabirds.

This Short Science Summary was developed based on the OES-Environmental 2020 State of the Science Report: Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Development Around the World, specifically Chapter 3: Collision Risk for Animals around Turbines. 

The table below contains the literature relevant to this summary document and will continue to be updated as new literature is added to Tethys.

Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Numerical study of a fish swimming in hydrokinetic turbine wake Macias, M.M., Mendes, R.C.F., Garcia-Ortiz, J.H., Oliveira, T.F., Brasil Junior, A.C.P. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish
Task Force on Sustainable Tidal Energy Development in the Bay of Fundy: Final Report Fisheries and Oceans Canada Report Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish, Human Dimensions
Predicting the probability of encounter between fish species and tidal stream energy devices using acoustic telemetry Bangley, C., Hasselman, D., Culina, J., Flemming, J., Whoriskey, F., Stokesbury, M., Beland, J., Bradford, R., Sanderson, B. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish
Probability of Atlantic salmon post-smolts encountering a tidal turbine installation in Minas Passage, Bay of Fundy Sanderson, B., Karsten, R., Hasselman, D. Presentation Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish, Pelagic Fish
Improving Understanding of Environmental Effects from Single MRE Devices to Arrays Hasselman, D., Hemery, L., Copping, A., Fulton, E., Fox, J., Gill, A., Polagye, B. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise
A Probabilistic Methodology for Determining Collision Risk of Marine Animals with Tidal Energy Turbines Copping, A., Hasselman, D., Bangley, C., Culina, J., Carcas, M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Quantifying conditional probabilities of fish-turbine encounters and impacts Peraza, J., Horne, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish
Automated Detection and Tracking of Marine Mammals in the Vicinity of Tidal Turbines Using Multibeam Sonar Gillespie, D., Hastie, G., Montabaranom, J., Longden, E., Rapson, K., Holoborodko, A., Sparling, C. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Marine Mammals
Task Force on Sustainable Tidal Energy Development in the Bay of Fundy Interim Report Fisheries and Oceans Canada Report Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish, Human Dimensions, Fisheries, Legal & Policy
Assessment of the impact of tidal power extraction from the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier through the evaluation of a pilot plant Fockert, A., Bijlsma, A., O'Mahoney, T., Verbruggen, W., Scheijgrond, P., Wang, Z. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Fish
Measuring Detection Efficiency of High-Residency Acoustic Signals for Estimating Probability of Fish–Turbine Encounter in a Fast-Flowing Tidal Passage Sanderson, B., Bangley, C., McGarry, L., Hasselman, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision Fish
European offshore renewable energy, towards a sustainable future Soukissian, T., O’Hagan, A-M., Azzellino, A., Boero, F., Brito e Melo, A., Comiskey, P., Gao, Z., Howell, D., Le Boulluec, M., Maisondieu, C., Scott, B., Tedeschi, E., Maheri, A., Pennock, S. Report Marine Energy, Ocean Current, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, EMF, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Social & Economic Data
The bigger picture: developing a low-cost graphical user interface to process drone imagery of tidal stream environments Slingsby, J., Scott, B., Kregting, L., McIlvenny, J., Wilson, J., Yanez, M., Williamson, B. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement Birds, Seabirds
Seabird use of tidal stream environments and potential interactions with tidal energy devices Isaksson, N. Thesis Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds
Providing a detailed estimate of mortality using a simulation-based collision risk model Horne, N., Culloch, R., Schmitt, P., Wilson, B., Dale, A., Houghton, J., Kregting, L. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Environmental impacts on marine energy systems: collision risks for marine animals and priority species for monitoring in Brazil Silva, C., Dagola, P., Moreira, M., Santos, L. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Collision Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals
Towards Resolving the Risk of Turbine Collision on Fish Garavelli, L., Rose, D., Staines, G., Copping, A. Report Marine Energy, Riverine, Tidal Collision Fish
Operation of a tidal turbine from a moored vessel in Agate Pass, WA Bassett, C. Presentation Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Noise Fish, Invertebrates, Human Dimensions
Triton: Environmental Monitoring Technology Development, Collision Risk Data Collection Packer, A., Acker, T., Staines, G. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish, Marine Mammals
Echofilter: A Deep Learning Segmentation Model Improves the Automation, Standardization, and Timeliness for Post-Processing Echosounder Data in Tidal Energy Streams Lowe, S., McGarry, L., Douglas, J., Newport, J., Oore, S., Whidden, C., Hasselman, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Displacement Fish, Marine Mammals
Practical Approaches for Providing Empirical Data on Seabird Behavior and Prey Assemblages in Tidal Channels Fraser, S., Waggitt, J. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Invertebrates
Capabilities of an Acoustic Camera to Inform Fish Collision Risk with Current Energy Converter Turbines Staines, G., Mueller, R., Seitz, A., Evans, M., O'Byrne, P., Wosnik, M. Journal Article Marine Energy, Riverine, Tidal Collision Fish
Experimental study of fish behavior near a tidal turbine model under dark conditions Yoshida, T., Furuichi, D., Williamson, B., Zhou, J., Dong, S., Li, Q., Kitazawa, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision Fish
A Review of Modeling Approaches for Understanding and Monitoring the Environmental Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Buenau, K., Garavelli, L., Hemery, L., Garcia Medina, G. Journal Article Marine Energy, Ocean Current, Tidal, Wave Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise
Biological Consequences of Marine Energy Development on Marine Animals Hemery, L., Copping, A., Overhus, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Seabirds, Pelagic Fish, Invertebrates, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds
Quantifying the effects of tidal turbine array operations on the distribution of marine mammals: Implications for collision risk Onoufriou, J., Russell, D., Thompson, D., Moss, S., Hastie, G. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) presence is reduced during tidal turbine operation Palmer, L., Gillespie, D., Macaulay, J., Sparling, C., Russell, D., Hastie, G. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Environmental Information for Siting and Operation of Floating Tidal Turbines in U.S. Waters Copping, A., Garavelli, L., Overhus, D., Tugade, L. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Marine Mammals
Environmental Impacts of Tidal and Wave Energy Converters Hutchison, Z., Lieber, L., Miller, R., Williamson, B. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
Are fish in danger? A review of environmental effects of marine renewable energy on fishes Copping, A., Hemery, L., Viehman, H., Seitz, A., Staines, G., Hasselman, D. Journal Article Marine Energy, Riverine, Tidal, Wave Avoidance, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise Fish
Shetland Tidal Array Monitoring Report: Subsea video monitoring Smith, K. Report Marine Energy, Tidal Attraction, Avoidance, Collision, Noise Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Pelagic Fish, Marine Mammals
Fast & Flexible: streamlining a simulation- based approach to collision risk assessments Horne, N., Schmitt, P., Culloch, R., Wilson, B., Dale, A., Houghton, J., Kregting, L. Conference Paper Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment
Harbour porpoises exhibit localized evasion of a tidal turbine Gillespie, D., Palmer, L., Macaulay, J., Sparling, C., Hastie, G. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Avoidance, Collision Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Marine Evidence packages ABP Marine Environmental Research Ltd (ABPmer) Website Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave Changes in Flow, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Habitat Change, Lighting, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
Tidal stream use by black guillemots Cepphus grylle in relation to a marine renewable energy development Johnston, D., Furness, R., Robbins, A., Tyler, G., McIlvenny, J., Masden, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds
A systemic view of potential environmental impacts of ocean energy production Martinez, M., Vázquez, G., Pérez-Maqueo O., Silvia, R., Moreno-Casasola, P., Mendoza-González, G., Lopez-Portillo, J., Macgregor-Fors, I., Heckel, G., Hernández-Santana, J., Gracía-Franco, J., Castillo-Campos, G., Lara-Dominguez, A. Journal Article Marine Energy, Ocean Current, OTEC, Salinity Gradient, Tidal, Wave Collision, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Physical Environment, Fish, Marine Mammals
An Evaluation of the Potential Impact of Extracting Marine Renewable Energy in the Coastal Environment of the Black Sea Zburlea, L., Rusu, E. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
Application of a multibeam echosounder to document changes in animal movement and behaviour around a tidal turbine structure Williamson, B., Blondel, P., Williamson, L., Scott, B. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Attraction, Collision, Habitat Change Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Marine Mammals
Collision risk modelling for tidal energy devices: A flexible simulation-based approach Horne, N., Culloch, R., Schmitt, P., Lieber, L., Wilson, B., Dale, A., Houghton, J., Kregting, L. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Using Trajectories through a Tidal Energy Development Site in the Bay of Fundy to Study Interaction of Renewable Energy with Local Fish Sanderson, B., Stokesbury, M., Redden, A. Journal Article Marine Energy, Tidal Collision Fish, Pelagic Fish
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