batch_auto_20260713 202607131256465730 BOEM ESP geoESPIS ESPIS@boem.gov Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Pilot Studies for Regional Fisheries Monitoring in Relation to Massachusetts and Rhode Island Offshore Wind Areas Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Massachusetts Clean Energy Center The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST), in conjunction with the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association (MLA), looked to estimate the relative abundance and distribution of larval lobster and fish using a towed neuston net; and zooplankton, specifically copepods, using a towed ring net with 102 µm-mesh. This study was conducted from May 2020 to November 2020 (larval lobster) and May and June of 2021 (copepods) at 30 stations that were randomly selected and distributed. This randomness is based on the proportional total area within each ten-meter depth contour of the 3670 km2 study area. In 2020, a 10-minute tow was conducted at each station to assess pre-settlement abundance and distribution of larval lobster and fish. In 2021, a 90-second tow was conducted at each station to assess abundance and distribution of zooplankton in the area. The planktonic invertebrate sampling served as a pilot for the regional fisheries monitoring program for southern New England to improve understanding of fish and fish habitat in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island wind energy areas. 1096688 U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program https://doi.org/10.13039/100012475 M20AC00006 10.67297/9A1EA9 https://boem.gov/awardpages/100393