May 30, 2024 CFSI Staff

NORTHER California OFFSHORE WIND SURVEY UPDATE

Screenshot 2024 05 30 at 10.29.07

Canopy Offshore Wind Farm plans to begin High Resolution Geophysical surveys of lease area P-0561, inshore notional investigative routes in federal waters, and associated 500-meter buffers on or around June 20, 2024 through September 30, 2024. This is the initial survey campaign focused on characterizing the seabed, refining knowledge of bottom features or obstructions, and locating areas of archeological interest. Survey work will be acquired with an untowed, autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and will include multibeam bathymetry, side scan imaging, magnetic measurements, sub-bottom profiling, and photography. All work will comply with federal requirements from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and will use equipment that meets California low energy equipment requirements.

The lease area is located 17.8 nautical miles (~33 km) west of Humboldt Bay, CA. Fishermen and mariners transiting and operating offshore between Brookings, OR and Fort Bragg, CA are encouraged to note the survey area locations, activities, and timing.

The survey vessel will not be towing any equipment in 2024. Fishermen fishing mobile gear or deploying tended, fixed fishing gear in survey areas when the survey vessel is present are requested to maintain communication with the survey vessel’s Onboard Fisheries Liaison (OFL) and coordinate operations through direct bridge-to-bridge communications as needed. Fishermen planning to fish fixed gear in the survey area are encouraged to contact shoreside Fisheries Liaison, Ricky Alexander, to coordinate activities in advance (contact info below). Updated fisheries notices will be issued to reflect any changes in the timing of survey vessel operations.

A 260-foot vessel, the Ocean Guardian, will survey the lease area. The vessel will be tending an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) deployed at 8 to 40m off the seabed, and requests a 0.5 nautical mile closest point of approach. Survey vessels will monitor VHF channel 16. Please contact Ricky Alexander, Fisheries Liaison, with any questions; ricky.alexander@rwe.com 312-504-9085

For more information, please visit www.canopyoffshorewind.com. To view the full notice, click here.

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