In view of the European objective to decarbonize Europe before 2050, there is a need to understand and anticipate future interaction and possible conflict between fisheries and windfarms and associated mitigating approaches. In 2019, under the Assistance Mechanism for MSP, a preliminary study was conducted on the subject. Building on examples from North Sea countries and France, it provided a detailed overview of the principal sources of conflict, as well as a set of 14 solutions implemented to deal with them. The “Offshore wind and Fisheries - Conflict fiche” is available on the European MSP Platform. The objective of this present study is to provide further insight to the actual interactions between the two sectors, building on the most recent documentation available. The study aims to answer the following questions: What are the tensions/conflicts between offshore wind farms and fisheries? How have these conflicts been addressed in EU Member States (at policy level, planning level and operational level)? Can some best practices be identified that could be duplicated? What could be done to better assess potential conflicts? Are there potential synergies that could be developed to mitigate these conflicts and improve cohabitation?

You can download the publication here