Evidence mapping of the causes and effects of habitat change attributed to offshore wind development is important for determining impacts on fisheries species

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Abstract As offshore wind (OSW) developments continue to expand globally, so does their interaction with fisheries. When assessing these interactions, it is important to understand how fisheries species are impacted, yet the evidence base linking OSW habitat change to fisheries species impacts is limited. The holistic Driver-Activity-Pressure-State-Impact-Response ($DAPSIR$) framework was used to map how pressures associated with OSW construction and operation could cause specific changes in state of the environment and consequential impacts on fisheries species. The framework was adapted to separate out ecological and population impacts. This separation was required to understand the sequence of steps associated with OSW habitat change through to localised impacts on fisheries species and then towards potential population level impacts; these are needed to predict the consequential impacts on fisheries, fishers and society. Multiple Cause–Effect pathways linking the elements of the framework, focussing specifically on the pressure, state changes and ecological impacts on fisheries species were tabulated, based on expert elicitation. The literature was searched to identify where there was direct evidence to support these predicted pathways and where there were gaps in the evidence base associated with determining the ecological impact. The assessment highlighted that most of the published evidence searched focused on the pressures created due to OSW and the associated state changes to the marine environment. Meanwhile, there was limited evidence demonstrating how the identified pressures and state changes in the habitat subsequently impacted fisheries species. These gaps should be filled to be able to assign the causes and effects of OSW habitat changes to the impacts on fisheries species that are meaningful and relevant at the level of fisheries populations. Setting out the Cause–Effect pathways between habitat change associated with OSW developments and separating out the ecological impacts on fisheries species and potential to have population impacts allowed us to correctly assign the evidence available to steps in the $DAPSIR$ framework. This is important to ensure greater confidence in the scientific evidence used to inform management of OSW developments in relation to impacts on fisheries species, their populations, and therefore fisheries. (i.e. the human impact).

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