Endangered Atlantic Sturgeon Habitat Use in Mid-Atlantic Wind Energy Area

Acoustic telemetry provides insights into previously undiscovered aspects of movement and habitat occupation over varied time scales by providing large volumes of presence-absence data over extended periods. The results from this study help to shed light on the spatiotemporal distribution of acoustically tagged species in the Virginia Wind Energy Area and identify data needs for better understanding how fish use shelf habitats. Results show that the marine minerals lease area is not unique in its provision of habitat or its species occupation patterns. In general, with some exceptions to be discussed by species, the sand borrow area occupation patterns appear to be very similar to other sites a similar distance from shore, which contain similar sand habitats located nearby that are important as migration routes rather than as foraging or overwintering habitats. This is in stark contrast to the extended overwintering residence illustrated by sturgeon in soft bottom depressions within the Wind Farm Array (WFA), presented in Volume 2 of this report.

USD: $871,475

2015-10-01 → 2020-09-30