This article was featured in Eurofish Magazine 3 2026.
The rapid expansion of offshore wind farms in the North Sea is displacing traditional fishing grounds but may simultaneously be generating new commercial opportunities for coastal fisheries. Researchers at the Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries are investigating whether brown crabs and lobsters, increasingly colonising the artificial reef structures formed around turbine foundations, could become viable target species for the sector.
The project, named PassFisch, focuses on passive pot-based fishing as a sustainable and economically feas1ible alternative for fishers losing access to traditional grounds. Researchers are mapping crab and lobster populations across the southern North Sea, analysing long-term data and satellite tracking of fishing activity, while working directly with local fishers to standardise data collection.
