Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy - OPA 2016

Original provider:NYSERDA, APEM, Normandeau AssociatesDataset credits:NYSERDA, APEM, Normandeau AssociatesAbstract:In support of New York State's commitment to incorporating offshore wind into its energy portfolio, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) embarked on a multi-year ultrahigh-resolution aerial digital survey of marine resources in a 12,650 square nautical mile offshore planning area (OPA) in 2016. The OPA encompasses the waters of the New York Bight from Long Island southeast to the continental shelf break. Surveys are conducted on a quarterly basis, timed to coincide with periods of abundance of avian and marine species vulnerable to impacts from offshore wind activities. This report summarizes the results of the first two surveys conducted in July–August and November 2016. Each survey collected images covering at least 7% of the OPA.Of the more than 700,000 images collected within the survey area during these two surveys, 3.8% (27,135 images) contained organisms, including 38 bird, 17 fish, 5 whales, 7 dolphin, 1 seal, and 4 sea turtle species. Some seasonal patterns were evident. During the summer survey, the vast majority of the organisms observed were rays (8,388 images) or birds (1,893 images). During the fall survey, birds predominated (12,352 images). Shearwaters, storm-petrels, and terns were substantially more abundant in the summer while ducks, gannets, gulls and phalaropes were substantially more abundant in the fall. Turtles, sharks, and large bony fishes were all most abundant in the summer, though present in the fall. Number of images with marine mammals was similar in both surveys.Spatial patterns were apparent in some taxonomic groups. A number of species tended to occur in nearshore waters including large gulls and least, royal and Sterna terns. Turtles typically occurred inshore of the 70 m isobath. Audubon's, sooty, and Cory's shearwaters clustered in the northeast corner of the OPA. Whales, Audubon's shearwaters, and black-capped petrels were most common near the shelf break. While sharks exhibited no clear patterns, rays showed some tendency to cluster off the mouth of New York Harbor. Large bony fishes typically occurred in deeper waters.Results from the surveys will be incorporated into efforts to identify suitable areas for development of offshore wind projects.