Workshop on Socio-economic Implications of Offshore Wind on Fishing Communities (WKSEIOWFC)

Common, consistent, and accepted frameworks for defining and quantifying the socio-economic impact of offshore wind on fisheries are urgently needed in Europe and in the United States of America. What information do we need to describe the socio-economic, socio-environmental, and socio-cultural complexities involved in fishing fleet behaviour and shore-side activities?The aim of the ICES Workshop on Socio-Economic Implications of Offshore Wind on Fishing Communities (WKSEIOWFC) was to develop a framework to define the socio-economic effects and impacts of offshore wind on fishing behaviour, fishing communities and coastal communi-ties more broadly. The workshop allowed us to describe, summarise and illustrate the environ-mental, economic and cultural effects that offshore wind development has on fisheries.Key results are preliminary conceptual models of cause-and-effect relationships, evidence and data gaps, reflections on the assessment of the cumulative impact from offshore wind on the fishing sector and fishing communities as well as identified perceptions of similarities and dif-ferences between European and USA regions.The workshop demonstrated the importance of improving our understanding of the socio-eco-nomic implications of offshore wind and fisheries interactions and highlighted the benefit of co-ordination with other ICES working groups focussing on topics relevant to offshore wind devel-opment and fisheries. Improved understanding can be used to foster the exchange of information and collaboration in addressing science questions, and to support decision-making. These activ-ities are considered to have a very high priority on a global level, especially as wind energy development technology evolves and the wind industry continues to require additional ocean spaces.