Massive steel towers are ruling over vast parts of the North Sea.
Harvesting wind for clean energy is their noble purpose. But beneath the harsh waves and weather, something strange is developing.
Local fishermen working off the Yorkshire coast feared the worst when a wind farm was installed near their waters.
Instead, a years-long study uncovered a mystery that surprised stakeholders across the board.
What is happening to the lobster population and how is it affecting the fishing industry?
A green-and-marine conumdrum: How tension builds around wind farms
The boom in the offshore wind sector has sparked clashes with traditional fishing grounds.
It was bad news for fishers when Ørsted’s Westermost Rough (WMR) wind farm was built in 2015. Their fears around their livelihoods being ruined were taken seriously.
An alliance between stakeholders was formed to find out if this would be the case.
Green energy giant, the Holderness Fishing Industry Group (HFIG), teamed up with scientists for six years from 2013 to 2019.
Their goal was a rare study tracking the changes in the waters, from pre-construction and building to full operations.
The waters in the target area, the Holderness coast in Yorkshire, are a golden goose for the UK fishing industry. European lobster and brown crab are the prime pickings for the market.
To make sure the data could be trusted, the team went for a “bulletproof” scientific strategy.
Instead of estimating or guessing about the real-world fishing conditions, they literally got aboard the commercial vessels.
An intense tag-and-release protocol was put in place to track the crustaceans.
Crucially, they compared the wind farm waters directly against nearby, actively fished control zones.
The result was a living laboratory. And the findings would go on to spark a vital conversation.
An ecological shift in biological trends
The steel and stone around the turbine monopiles fundamentally changed everything about the marine environment. Unexpected biological trends beneath the waves became apparent.
And it was all down to “scour protection.”
The base of each turbine gets heavy rock armor to protect against erosion. But it does so much more than protect the steel.
The structures create a complex, stable habitat perfect for marine life.
They offer superb shelter and feeding conditions. This is far from the early days of construction that drove wildlife away from the area.
Next to surface in the data were fascinating anomalies in Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE) data.
This is according to the study, “Co-existence in practice: a collaborative study of the effects of the Westermost Rough offshore wind development on the size distribution and catch rates of a commercially important lobster (Homarus gammarus) population,” published in Oxford Academy.
Brown crab catches declined inside the wind farm. This was likely due to new competition.
And it wasn’t a good sign for fishing.
But at the same time, European lobster numbers remained highly resilient, as reported by Ørsted. In fact, increases were recorded inside the turbine array.
The shell secret: Implications for the future
The kicker was not just the surprising information about the lobsters’ numbers but also their size. They were recorded growing significantly bigger, thrilling fishers no end.
The answer about their increased length and weight solves the ultimate mystery of Westermost Rough.
And it all comes down to protection. During construction, the wind farms became temporarily closed to commercial fishing.
A period of rest and recovery
This restriction, along with the installation of the scour protection, created a temporary safe period. Lobster numbers recovered so quickly because they survived for longer.
They got the chance to go through more molting cycles, ending up as giants.
This isn’t just good news for the lobsters. It’s a massive win for the fishing industry.
It proves that green energy and traditional industries don’t just have to share space. They can actually forge each other’s future.