Potential Repercussions of Offshore Wind Energy Development in the Northeast United States for the Atlantic Surfclam Survey and Population Assessment

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The Atlantic surfclam is among the most exposed to offshore wind development impacts due to the overlap of fishing grounds with wind energy lease areas, the hydraulic dredges used by the fishing vessels, and the location of vessel home ports relative to fishing grounds. The development of offshore wind turbines could limit or prevent vessel access, safety requirements, and assessment survey protocols during the Atlantic surfclam federal assessment survey. The impact of excluding the federal assessment survey from wind energy lease areas on the Atlantic surfclam population biomass assessment was investigated in the recently published paper found here.