As marine space becomes increasingly crowded with offshore renewable energy (ORE) installations and marine protected areas (MPAs), long-term scientific surveys that support stock and ecosystem assessments are facing disruptions. In June 2025, ICES held the Workshop to Develop an ICES Survey Mitigation Strategy (WKDISM) in Copenhagen, bringing together around 50 experts to address this growing challenge in marine science.
Disruptions
“Almost all fisheries-independent surveys conducted in Europe, as well as many regions in the US and Canada, are being or will be affected in some way by ORE and MPA expansion," says Duane Stevenson, co-chair of the workshop.
Fellow co-chair Pia Schuchert adds that disruptions vary by region and survey type. “In the North Sea, the area unavailable is increasing on an annual basis, with most surveys being impacted: bottom trawl, pelagic/acoustic, beam, and dredge. An interesting case presented in the workshop, which I was not aware of, is the visual aerial survey of tuna in the Mediterranean that cannot be conducted anymore".
In 2024, members of ICES Working Group on Offshore Wind Development and Fisheries (WGOWDF) collaborated on a study to present evidence and solutions to this problem, noting that additional uncertainty in our science risks impacts to our seafood industries and food security. This paper Fisheries independent surveys in a new era of offshore wind energy development set the stage for WKDISM.
WKDISM focused first on mapping these spatial conflicts across ICES regions. These spatial developments, while advanced by some countries for a variety of societal reasons, restrict access to traditional survey routes and result in large-scale habitat modifications. WKDISM reviewed how these disruptions can bias scientific results by creating data gaps or altering the consistency of time-series data.
A major outcome of the workshop was the development of a draft ICES mitigation strategy. This strategy outlines how to standardize protocols across surveys, integrate mitigation plans into assessment models, and engage the necessary partners and interests early in the planning process. It also recommends piloting and scaling up alternative survey tools and methods, including advanced survey technologies, to ensure surveys can adapt to future constraints without compromising data quality. The US was recognized for its leadership as the first government to identify and assess this issue, particularly through its efforts to require offshore wind developers to mitigate the impacts of their projects on NOAA’s scientific surveys and assessments.
Challenges ahead
The workshop highlights the need to be prepared, ensure that ORE and MPA developers avoid and mitigate the impacts of these developments on fundamental science, and have the resources and tools to respond to challenges. Schuchert states that initially, this is raising awareness of the importance of survey continuity, followed by available resources to adapt and incorporate new survey methods”.
Stevenson agrees, “The loss of access to areas set aside for ORE/MPA creates continuity issues with long-term monitoring efforts. In addition to the changes these areas create in the habitats themselves, they can create losses of sampling efficiency in monitoring efforts, and may lead to biases in the analyses of survey data".
Why do we need to develop an ICES mitigation strategy?
Scientific advice on fisheries and ecosystem management depends heavily on reliable and consistent survey data. If survey coverage is lost or altered, it becomes more difficult to track stock trends accurately and provide evidence-based recommendations—this can lead to uncertainty in assessments and ultimately reduce both the catch available to fishers and sustainable seafood for the public. The WKDISM report offers a roadmap for maintaining the integrity of ICES advice in a landscape of rapidly expanding offshore activity.
This report highlights an urgent and growing issue in the North Atlantic and beyond, and provides practical guidance on how to respond. As both offshore renewables and MPAs continue to grow, this work will help ensure that these new ocean uses are aware of their impacts and the costs on the science, and marine science keeps pace with change.
“We tried to keep this report accessible for a wide audience", says Schuchert, “as we would like those involved in surveys and assessments to read this, but also the MPA and ORE spatial planners and developers."
In addition to scientists and fishery managers, the chairs hope that management partners, such as indigenous nations, the fishing industry and fisheries collaborators, conservation organizations, and developers will benefit from this information and these perspectives.
Read the WKDISM report to gain an insight into the evolving intersection between marine development, conservation, and long-term ecosystem science and how ICES is preparing to adapt.
