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Abstract

Abstract-Fish and macro-invertebrate assemblages were examined in the vicinity of 5 wind energy areas on the northeast U.S. continental shelf by using 2 sampling gears. Collections of fish and macroinvertebrates during the spring of 2014 with a 2-m beam trawl and a standard bottom trawl were compared. Correspondence analysis of proportions of taxa in the catch at sampling stations and estimated individual weights, averaged by taxon, were used to describe the composition of assemblages, and composition of the catch was compared between collections made with the 2 different gears and among different wind energy areas. These comparisons indicated that the 2 gears collected different fish and macro-invertebrate communities. Analysis of the collections by gear type indicated that assemblages varied across several spatial scales. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to examine the relationship between assemblages, sampling programs, and environmental variables to determine which variables and Correspondence analysis dimensions were aligned with stations and were related to the assemblages. Environmental variables explained 20.5% of the variation for the beam trawl stations and assemblages and 28.8% of variation for the bottom trawl stations and assemblages. Our results indicate that assessments of wind energy areas on the northeast U.S. shelf should be conducted by using multiple gear types across multiple spatial and temporal scales.