This fact sheet presents potential impacts to whales before, during, and after construction, specifically noise and vessel strike and how US Wind is working to avoid, minimize, and mitigate any potential risks to whales in the Lease area.
Mitigation measures for noise include a pile driving monitoring plan, bubble curtains, a monitored clearance zone prior to pile driving using a combination of visual and acoustic monitoring, and restrictions on number and timing if pile driving events.
Mitigation measures to reduce the risk of vessel strike include the use of Protected Species Observers; vessels remaining 640 feet or greater from any sighted North Atlantic right whale and 328 feet or greater from any sighted cetacean; and specific monitoring for North Atlantic right whales between Nov 1 through Apr 30.
