Abstract
This chapter discusses lessons learned from a socio-ecological study on the impacts of the first offshore wind farm in North America. The authors reflect on the combination of ecological data from demersal fish trawl and lobster surveys and qualitative social science data from interviews with commercial and recreational fishermen. They encountered several challenges in integrating the different research strands, arising from the temporal and spatial ranges of data, mismatch in focal fish species, and research framing. Despite these challenges, an integrated approach led to more comprehensive capture of impacts and guidance on how to design better biological studies. Early stage collaboration during research design, aligned goals, and comprehensive planning are all key to more integrated data collection and analysis within interdisciplinary studies of marine and fisheries domains.
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Acknowledgements
This work was funded by Rhode Island Sea Grant. This chapter was prepared while Dr ten Brink was employed at the University of Rhode Island. The statements, findings, conclusions and recommendations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, or the US government.
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ten Brink, T., Dalton, T., Livermore, J. (2021). Integrating Social and Ecological Research on the Impacts of Offshore Wind Farms in North America. In: Gustavsson, M., White, C.S., Phillipson, J., Ounanian, K. (eds) Researching People and the Sea. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59601-9_11
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