Cowrie is pleased to announce the release of the above report prepared by a consortium lead by Cranfield University and including CMACS, CEFAS, CIMS and University of Liverpool.

COWRIE commissioned the priority research project COWRIE 2.0 EMF with the objective to determine if electromagnetic sensitive fish respond to controlled electromagnetic fields (EMF) with the characteristics and magnitude of EMF associated with offshore wind farm power cables.

The project was undertaken by a consortium with representatives from Cranfield University (Project Coordinators), Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies Ltd (CMACS), Centre for Fisheries, Environment and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) and Centre for Intelligent Monitoring Systems (CIMS), University of Liverpool.

The project took an experimental research approach by enclosing a section of sub-sea cable within a suitable area of seabed using an approach know as ‘mesocosm studies’ to allow the response of elasmobranch test species to controlled electromagnetic fields to be assessed within a semi-natural setting. Prior to the study and following peer-review of the project design it had been agreed with members of COWRIE that the mesocosm approach would be thebest option for obtaining scientifically rigorous information required to answer the primary research question:

Do electromagnetically (EM) sensitive organisms respond to anthropogenic EMFs of the type and magnitude generated by offshore wind farms?

Answering this question is an important first stage before needing to consider whether any effects of EMF may be positive or negative? The focus of our study and this report was therefore on addressing the primary objective, which will then be of value for further consideration of potential effects.
 

Full report.pdf (5MB)