Our Solution

Our goal is to combine offshore aquaculture with offshore wind turbine developments to create a more resilient environment to sustain shellfish farming and fishing.

Shellfish longlines anchored on wind farming sites offer a more resilient mussel harvest and impressive yield, and would boost wind farms’ public perception and increase long-term ecological health. The possibilities are limitless as wind farms develop up and down the coast; this project would allow local communities to benefit from the growing offshore wind boom, all while helping to preserve biodiversity and sea ecosystems.

This plan involves the development and permitting of offshore aquaculture infrastructure on sites already occupied by wind turbines. Grouping the structures provides security from the high-energy ocean environment and promoting the growth of keystone shellfish species will have far-reaching benefits in offshore ecosystems. The deepwater environment is much more resistant to the accelerating effects of climate change than inshore shellfish farms. As waters become more acidic and sea temperatures rise, colder, deeper waters become more favorable to seafood species.

Within years of development, we estimate that one of our proposed mussel farms could produce 1,300 pounds of market ready mussels per week during the growing season, translating to about $2,600 per week on a site with five turbines. As an expansion of existing harvester’s crops, this would more than offset future decline in mussel populations inshore. Taking into consideration the long-term reliability of this project, harvesters have a clear incentive to take advantage of offshore aquaculture.