AFTA Submission – Offshore renewable energy infrastructure area proposal: Northern Tasmania, Bass Strait, TAS
Response received at: 22 January 2024, 11:11pm
Organisation name:
Australian Fishing Trade Association (AFTA)
Can you see any benefits or opportunities related to the environment for offshore renewable energy projects in this proposed area?
No
Do you have any concerns related to the environment for offshore renewable energy projects in this proposed area?
Yes
Please list your key concerns.
AFTA has concerns about the impact on all marine life, in particular the marine life that transits through the proposed area and the impacts that will occur not just to the recreational fishing industry.
There are several and many detailed considerations that need to be considered with offshore wind turbines, including localised environmental impacts:
Noise Pollution:
The construction and operation of offshore wind turbines generate anthropogenic noise that can affect marine life such as whales, dolphins, and seals that rely on sounds (echolocation & vocalisation) to communicate and for navigation. These sounds can interfere with marine mammals’ behaviours, as it alters their way of communicating, feeding, reproducing, and navigating the oceans. On some occasions, these changes can lead to injury or even death.
Habitat Loss:
The installation of offshore wind turbines causes natural habitat destruction and displacement of some marine species. Whilst they will establish a new artificial reef system in themselves, this new reef system will impact the natural migration patterns of pelagic species. This structure also presents an opportunity for invasive non-native species to establish and have a harmful environmental influence.
Sea Birds:
Offshore wind farms affect the very sea birds, both domestic and migratory, that prey on bait schools attracted to the turbine structure to survive. A study by the Conservation Action Lab, UC Santa Cruz identified that seabirds are the most highly threatened group of birds. The potential impacts of offshore wind farms include the displacement of birds from areas where they forage for food and direct mortality from collisions with wind turbine blades. Both displacement and mortality can have detrimental effects on the overall population of an affected species.
Visual Impacts:
Standing at a height of 300m, these offshore windfarms will alter the scenic beauty of the coastline which will affect tourism, recreation and as a result local economies.
Collision Risk:
Offshore wind turbines pose a collision risk, not only to the large-scale flocks of seabirds that travel this region of Bass Straight pursuing the migration trail of baitfish and tuna, which can result in negative impacts on local ecosystems but in addition they represent a major navigational hazard for cargo vessels.
Underwater Disturbance:
During the construction and installation of offshore wind turbines, it will cause a significant underwater disturbance which can affect marine species’ behaviour and migration patterns.
During operation, the wind turbines emit an electromagnetic field that interferes with the natural electromagnetic fields present in the ocean. It is these electromagnetic fields that fish and mammals use as their natural magnetic compass to navigate the underwater environment to search for food, communicate, stay orientated, migrate, locate resources and predators, etc.
Studies in the UK have revealed that Offshore Windfarms have wreaked havoc on fish spawning grounds and that the power cables that connect offshore wind turbines are mesmerising crabs and causing biological harm that affects their ability to migrate and breed; the same phenomenon has just been identified in lobsters.
Consideration must be given to the design and location to minimise the environmental impact. Further community consultation and localised environmental impact assessments must be undertaken with local communities, fishers, stakeholders, tourism operators and wildlife conservationists to ensure and undertake the potential impacts.
Once these turbines and infrastructure are in place, there is no realistic opportunity to address any below-water, negative environmental impacts.
Can you see any benefits or opportunities related to the community and onshore transmission for offshore renewable energy projects in this proposed area?
No
Do you have any concerns related to the community and onshore transmission for offshore renewable energy projects in this proposed area?
Yes
Please list your key concerns.
There will be detrimental triple bottom line impacts to those reliant on sustainable fishing industries and that is not just on the immediate local communities, but broader impacts across the state and nation.
Can you see any benefits or opportunities related to fishing for offshore renewable energy projects in this proposed area?
No
Do you have any concerns related to fishing for offshore renewable energy projects in this proposed area?
Yes
Please list your key concerns.
Impacts on Fishing:
Whether it is the commercial or recreational fishing sector, all will be impacted by the introduction of offshore windfarms. The sheer scale and resultant exclusion zones of wind farms across key fishing areas will severely impact the viability of all sectors.
Bass Strait has a huge tidal/current flow, the installation of wind turbine towers will create a massive “F.A.D.” for bait fish to shelter behind which in turn will draw not only predatory fish species into a huge zone that excludes anglers but will also draw a huge number of predatory bird species into a potentially lethal environment as the tip speed of these turbines is deceivingly fast – our members have personally witnessed the impact that land-based turbines have had on some bird species that were simply flying through the area and not concentrating on what is happening in the water
Anglers feel there is no justifiable reason for them to be excluded from a major fishery when there are ample land-based wind farm opportunities in the State of Tasmania – there are over 100,000 recreational anglers in Tasmania which equates to 25% of the Tasmanian population can potentially be affected by this proposal.
With the exclusion of fishing activity, both recreational and commercial in the affected areas by the offshore wind farms will have a triple-bottom-line effect. The economic, social and environmental consequences for the recreational fishermen, the commercial fishing industry, the coastal communities that depend on this sector, and society in general will be negatively impacted. In addition, the sounds, vibration, and electromagnetic fields of the cables can impact captures.
Whilst there are 6 Pro Tackle stores and another 7 major “Chain” stores that will be directly impacted by this approval should it go ahead, there are also an innumerable number of small stores in almost every area around the state that supply fishing tackle and bait services who will also suffer the financial consequences of this proposal.
Besides taking away prime fishing grounds through exclusion zones, the wind turbine structures will become large-scale full-time floating artificial reef structures each creating a whole new marine ecosystem system based around each wind turbine underwater structure. The number of structures planned will naturally draw baitfish and as a result, draw target species away from permissible fishing areas.
These will also compete with and overtake the benefits of any seasonal Fish Attraction Devices (FAD’s), they will alter the migration pattern of schooling baitfish which in turn will alter the pattern of the pelagic species that follow.
Whilst this is a national issue, the impact in the proposed area for the Tasmanian offshore wind farm for example covers the prime areas for pelagic sports fishing, predominately a range of species of Tuna that transit the Bass Straight area following migrating baitfish.
Do you have any concerns related to visual amenities for offshore renewable energy projects in this proposed area?
Yes
Please list your key concerns.
The pure physical scale of this large-scale 10,136 square kilometre proposed area will, in part, be visible from Devonport to Bridport along the mainland and parts of Flinders Island. Tasmania has a reputation as a pure, world heritage class tourism destination, this wind farm proposal does not fit in with that scenario description in any way.
Can you see any other benefits or opportunities for offshore renewable energy projects in this proposed area?
No
Do you have any other concerns for offshore renewable energy projects in this proposed area?
Yes
Please list your key concerns.
The environmental benefit sought from offshore wind farms would not be at the detriment of the broader marine environment.
Offshore windfarms are known to have detrimental impacts on marine life, including whales, dolphins, and seals and these are common in all proposed locations. The construction and operation of wind turbines create noise pollution which can interfere with the communication and navigation abilities of whales and other marine mammals leading to changes in their behaviour and migration patterns potentially harming their population over time.
An article in the Daily Sentinel (2016) reported that near the world’s largest concentration of offshore wind farms in the North Sea and the English Channel, researchers documented dozens of beached whales — and they are reaching alarming conclusions about the relationship between whale deaths and wind farms. They cite ample evidence that noise from the machines interferes with whale communication and navigation, sometimes with deadly results. In one month, 29 otherwise healthy sperm whales (an endangered species) were stranded and died on English, German and Dutch beaches.
There is also the navigation hazard through a heavily trafficked area that services the mainland ports of Burnie, Devonport & Bell Bay. These vessels at times travel through gale force winds which when combined with the Bass Straight current and the proposed offshore wind farm structures create an additional and unnecessary risk.