Seals Use Offshore Wind Farms as New Foraging Grounds

Scientists tracked the movements of seals and noticed that these marine mammals use off shore wind farms as foraging grounds to feast on invertebrates.

The research carried out by the University of St. Andrews found that offshore wind turbines offer a valuable feeding opportunity for the wildlife population in the area. The finding was based on the analysis of the data retrieved from GPS devices that were fixed to Harbour and Grey seals in the North Sea.

The study, led by Dr. Deborah Russell, observed the movements of the seals around the British and Dutch coasts. The researchers basically focused on the movements around the wind farms and underwater pipelines. They noticed the seals made a deliberate move towards these structures to look for food.

 "I was shocked when I first saw the stunning grid pattern of a seal track around Sheringham Shoal - an offshore wind farm in Norfolk. You could see that the seal appeared to travel in straight lines between turbines, as if he was checking them out for potential prey and then stopping to forage at certain ones. Although marine mammals have previously been observed in the vicinity of offshore man-made structures such as wind farms, as far as we know this is the first time it has been demonstrated that some individuals have an affinity with the structures themselves," said Dr. Russell, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Scottish Oceans Institute of St Andrews.

The data emphasizes that the individual seals are hunting at the structures as a result of reef effect. This could have implications for both offshore wind farm developments as well as the decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure.

The findings do not dismiss the adverse impacts of the development or presence of man-made structures on marine wildlife.

The study reveals that operational wind farms offer foraging opportunities for few and the study only focused on the effect on marine mammals during the operation stage of wind farms. During the construction phase, the wind farms have the most dramatic negative effect on marine mammals.

The finding as documented in the journal Current Biology.