wiredInUSA April 2016

Happy neighbors

Three new studies indicate that submarine electricity cables are not detrimental to sea life. The work alleviates concerns that offshore wind and tidal power production will disrupt marine habitats. By tracking the movements of fish and crabs around underwater power cables, the new studies reveal that marine animals do not avoid the magnetic fields around the cables. One study found that the thick cables can serve as artificial habitats and host undersea communities, while another showed crabs freely crossing power cables to reach baited traps. “There’s much less of a concern now,” said Ann Bull, amarine biologist at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in California, who presented two of the studies at the American Geophysical Union’s ocean sciences meeting.

In another study, scientists monitored the marine life around three parts of the seafloor over three years. One area had a powered cable; another, an unpowered cable; and the third area had no cables at all. The areas attracted similar kinds and numbers of anemones and other sea life, and twice as many fish and four times as many invertebrates favored the cabled areas over the uncabled section. Genevra Harker-Klimes, a marine scientist at the Pacific Northwest national laboratory, commented that it was very positive news for the offshore energy industry.

wiredInUSA - April 2016

26