A trawl survey of the ocean floor near the landing site of the South Fork Wind farm’s export cable is being conducted this week, John Aldred of the East Hampton Town Trustees announced on Monday. The survey was to take place between May 8 and May 15.
The trustees commissioned the study of fish migration near the site, which is being conducted by Cornell Cooperative Extension, to provide a consistent sampling of finfish and invertebrates in the affected area and an associated control area. Survey data will be used to document fish populations and inform the environmental review process in order to minimize construction impacts on fisheries.
The trawl survey is happening in conjunction with an acoustic telemetry survey that looks at the movement of fish, Mr. Aldred told his colleagues. The survey was conducted in the previous two years, before the installation of the cable, and will be done in each of the two years following construction, when the cable will be transmitting electricity from the 12-turbine wind farm to be constructed in a federal lease area around 35 miles off Montauk Point.
“An area we’re really concerned with is where the cable comes ashore,” Mr. Aldred said. “The results will document populations before, during, and after the cable is installed and charged. Any impacts to migration will be analyzed in conjunction with the acoustic telemetry study, and the data used to inform the environmental review process moving forward.”
Cornell Cooperative Extension will make every effort to minimize inconvenience to mobile and fixed-gear fishermen, the trustees said. All fishermen have been asked to contact Alex Mercado at 516-590-5678 or [email protected] to relay gear position within the survey area.
“Fixed-gear fishermen especially are encouraged to coordinate with the trawler,” Mr. Aldred said, to “let it know where their gear is located so there is no conflict. The trawler will be looking out for buoys and does have coordinates of some fixed gear already.”
Fishermen can contact the F/V Bulldog, an 80-foot stern trawler with a green hull and white deckhouse, during the survey on VHF Channels 13 or 16 to determine the updated daily schedule and communicate information to Captain Mercado on board. Personnel aboard the Bulldog will check each site for marked gear by cruising along a selected tow path before the net is set.
The wind farm developers’ contractor has almost completed onshore construction. Restoration of Beach Lane in Wainscott, where the cable makes landfall, continues this week, as does testing at a new interconnection station off Cove Hollow Road in East Hampton.
The turbines and their foundations are to be installed this summer, with the wind farm on track to be operational by year’s end.
