The Use of eDNA to Monitor Pelagic Fish in Offshore Floating Wind Farms

After nearly 30 years of experience with offshore wind energy (OWE), the industry is moving past the initial learning phase and into large-scale development. One of the strongest motivations for OWE is that projects are large enough to replace fossil-fueled electricity production that we know is a primary contributor to the ongoing climate crisis. Environmental concerns are therefore also at the core of OWE development, and environmental research and impact monitoring have been central parts of the industry since its inception. A large volume of science-based knowledge is available about the environmental impacts of OWE on marine ecosystems, from effects on the seafloor sediment infauna beneath the turbines to those on marine mammals that roam the developed seas.