A unique project in Orkney, UK, between the emerging wave energy industry and the local inshore fishing community aims to demonstrate that the two industries can co-exist in harmony - and deliver mutual benefits as well.
EMEC, the European Marine Energy Centre, has a grid-connected test site at Billia Croo, where developers can pilot test wave energy devices and feed the electricity they generate into the UK grid. EMEC also has a similar site in the North Isles of Orkney for testing tidal energy devices.
Both test sites have already seen various devices on test, with more planned for deployment in the months and years ahead.
The project at Billia Croo will address the possible effects of marine energy developments on crustacea and their fisheries, and will investigate the effects of a no-take zone established around the wave energy site.
Working together with Orkney Sustainable Fisheries Ltd, EMEC will release hatchery reared juvenile lobsters into the area and the population will then be monitored by an annual catch and release programme.
Jennifer Norris, research and consents manager at EMEC, said: "This is a very exciting project that has been funded by the Scottish Government with support from Marine Scotland Science for which we are very grateful.
"The production of electricity by clean and sustainable methods is crucial, and I firmly believe that there is a way forward for the marine energy and fisheries industries to coexist co-operatively.
"If this local project can contribute to our understanding of any effects, including positive ones, of these devices on fisheries, then we will be delighted to have played a part in establishing a co-operative way forward for the two industries."
