Fish benefits from offshore wind farm development

The studies up until 2006 showed few effects on the fish fauna that could be attributed to the establishment and operation of the wind farms. Fish abundance and diversity were not higher inside the wind farms than in the areas outside the wind farms. One obvious reason for this could be that the studies and investigations were made during the early stages of colonisation of the turbine foundations at Horns Rev that constitute artificial reefs.

At Nysted, the effect was weak, presumably because the benthic community consisted of a monoculture of large common mussels (Mytilus edulis) that are only moderately attractive to fish. Also investigations into the effects on fish and fish behaviour from electromagnetic fields were made at Nysted. Data documented some effects from the cable route on fish behaviour, with some species avoiding the cable, while other species were attracted.

However, only flounder (Platichthys flesus) showed correlation between the phenomena observed and the strength of the magnetic fields