STUDY TITLE: Atlantic Fish Telemetry: Movement and Habitat Selection by Migratory Fishes 

within the Maryland Wind Energy Area and Adjacent Reference Sites 

REPORT TITLE: Movement and Habitat Selection by Migratory Fishes within the Maryland 

Wind Energy Area and Adjacent Reference Sites

OCS STUDY NUMBER: BOEM 2020-030

NUMBER OF PAGES: 109

CONTRACT NUMBER(S): M16AC00008

SPONSORING OCS REGION: Office of Renewable Energy Programs

APPLICABLE PLANNING AREA(S): Mid-Atlantic

FISCAL YEAR(S) OF PROJECT FUNDING: FY16 – FY20

COSTS BY FISCAL YEAR: FY 2016: $0; FY 2017: $205,896.95; FY 2018: $94,038.88; FY 

2019: $78,048.48; FY 2020: $59,038.36

CUMULATIVE PROJECT COST: $437,022.67

COMPLETION DATE OF REPORT: February 2020

PROJECT MANAGER(S): Brian Hooker

AFFILIATION (OF PROJEC MANAGER): Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Bureau of 

Ocean Energy Management 

ADDRESS: 45600 Woodland Road, VAM-OREP Sterling, VA 20166 

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS*: David Secor and Helen Bailey

KEY WORDS: Atlantic sturgeon, before-after-gradient design, biotelemetry, dynamic habitat 

model, phenology, Mid-Atlantic Bight, migration corridor, offshore wind energy, striped bass

BRIEF ABSTRACT: Baseline information is needed on the extent of fish migration corridors 

within BOEM-leased Wind Energy Areas. This two-year biotelemetry study deployed a beforeafter-gradient approach to evaluate migration behavior and habitat selection of two model 

migratory fishes, Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrhynchus and striped bass Morone saxatilis, in 

the Maryland Wind Energy Area (MD WEA). The MD WEA is located in the migration corridors

for both species during periods of spring, fall and winter. Detected individuals within the MD 

WEA originated broadly, from Maine to South Carolina. During summer, Atlantic sturgeon were 

rarely detected and striped bass were absent in the MD WEA, suggesting a potential window for 

wind turbine construction. Dynamic habitat models identified cross-shelf gradients in depth and

temperature that were predictive of seasonal incidence and whether test species distributions 

were within MD WEA or in adjacent shelf regions. 

BACKGROUND: Wind farms within inner shelf regions of the Mid-Atlantic Bight will greatly 

increase the amount of structured habitat for coastal fishes. Installed wind turbines present long-
term structures, which similar to petro rigs in the Gulf of Mexico can alter movement behaviors 

by fishes and their accessibility to fisheries. The Mid-Atlantic Bight shelf ecosystem functions as 

a migration corridor for fishes, marine mammals and birds. Fields of wind turbines in this 

relatively “featureless” region could alter behaviors of migratory animals, causing them to use 

wind farms as stopover habitats during seasonal migrations.

OBJECTIVES: Gather baseline information on seasonal transit and habitat occurrence of 

striped bass and Atlantic sturgeon in relation to depth, temperature, and other oceanographic 

and benthic variables in and adjacent to the MD WEA. 

METHODS: An array of 20 biotelemetry receivers was deployed 2016-2018 in a before-aftergradient design centered in the MD WEA and extending 48 km offshore (see Figure 1), detected 

and recorded seasonal incidence of acoustically-tagged Atlantic sturgeon and striped bass. 

Receivers were downloaded on a quarterly basis. Detections and observing system 

environmental data were compiled to analyze transience, seasonal incidence, habitat selection 

and to develop dynamic habitat models for both species. Leveraging detection data from a 

BOEM-supported project in the DE WEA, transit direction and rates were analyzed. Incidence 

data in habitat models was adjusted for seasonal changes in biotelemetry receiver detection 

efficiency, which was simultaneously measured within the MD WEA. Generalized Additive 

Mixed Model selection compared hundreds of models incorporating combinations of 

demographic and environmental variables, lag periods and interactions. 

RESULTS: The biotelemetry array logged 745,385 detections of 1,286 acoustically-tagged fish, 

including 315 striped bass and 352 Atlantic sturgeon. Detections of Atlantic sturgeon occurred in

autumn, early winter, spring, and early summer. Striped bass occurrence was more 

concentrated during winter months with a rapid pulse in spring. Both species were transient, 

with mean durations of 1.6 and 2.5 days respectively for Atlantic sturgeon and striped bass. 

Single-variable analyses and habitat models alike identified depth and temperature as key 

variables; Atlantic sturgeon tended to occur at shallower sites and warmer temperatures while 

striped bass incidence was more likely at great depths and cooler conditions. 

CONCLUSIONS: The MD WEA occurs within a migration corridor. Summer-time wind turbine 

construction would minimize interactions with striped bass and Atlantic sturgeon. During other 

seasons, striped bass distributions occurred within the footprint of the MD WEA, whereas 

Atlantic sturgeon occurred inshore, in areas affected by inshore transmission lines. The crossshelf biotelemetry sampling design is suitable for both baseline and impact phases of offshore 

wind energy development, supporting the before-after-gradient analysis approach.

STUDY PRODUCTS: 

1. BOEM study report: Secor D, O’Brien M, Rothermel E, Wiernicki C, Bailey H. 2020. 

Movement and habitat selection by migratory fishes within the Maryland Wind Energy 

Area and adjacent reference sites. Sterling (VA): U.S. Department of the Interior, BOEM, 

Office of Renewable Energy Programs. OCS Study BOEM 2020-xxxx. 109 p.

2. Report data is available via the Dryad data repository along with relevant metadata 

guidance (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6hdr7sqx3).

* The affiliation of the Principle Investigator(s) may be different than that listed for Project 

Manager(s).
Figure 1. Acoustic receiver array design

Twenty receivers are divided into three strata; Inner (pink), MD WEA (green), and Outer (blue). Bathymetric depth 

contours are shown at 10-m intervals.