Workshop on a Research Roadmap for Offshore and Marine Renewable Energy (WKOMRE)

The Workshop on a Research Roadmap for Offshore and Marine Renewable Energy (WKOMRE) examined the ICES role in providing science, data, and advice in the context of offshore and marine renewable energy development. For 120 years, ICES has led an international marine science collaboration to support the sustainable use of the ocean. Much of the focus, which is based on historical ocean use, has been on transboundary fisheries science and scientific advice, and more recently on the development of ecosystem approaches to fisheries and marine environmental management. ICES has also made a concerted effort to develop aquaculture science and advice with the goal of informing sustainable ocean-based food production. Climate change and energy security have created an urgent global effort to develop renewable energy in ocean ecosystems. Offshore wind energy and other coastal and marine renewable energy technologies provide countries with the ability to generate renewable electricity within their borders. As a result, rapid and large-scale offshore and marine renewable energy (OMRE) development is now underway. As a science organisation that has worked at the human-ocean interface for many decades, ICES is well-prepared to take a leading role in this topic: providing science, data, and advice to decision-makers to inform on the changes to marine ecosystems resulting from human uses based on principles of ecosystem-based management. The goal for ICES would be to enable society to make scientific-based decisions that balance fisheries, aquaculture, renewable energy, conservation, and other human uses, while at the same time maintaining healthy, productive, and resilient marine ecosystems. ICES proven ability to work at the ecosystem-level and across national boundaries is needed to address the effects of offshore and marine renewable energy on marine resources and ecosystems. To be successful, ICES should act quickly by providing the best scientific information available now and work over the long-term to fill knowledge gaps, develop and use best practices, synthesise information, collaborate with partners and stakeholders, and improve data and advice outputs and outcomes. This WKOMRE report is intended to serve as a precursor to draft roadmap for ICES to pursue development of science, data, and advice on offshore and marine renewable energy in the context of ecosystem-based management.