Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Summer 2016–Spring 2019 Seasonal Surveys Large Bony Fish and Fish Shoals FINAL REPORT Prepared for New York State Energy Research and Development Authority 17 Columbia Circle Albany, NY 12203-6399 Prepared by Normandeau Associates Inc. 4581 NW 6th Street, Suite H Gainesville, FL 32609 352-372-4747 www.normandeau.com with APEM Ltd Riverview A17 Embankment Business Park Heaton Mersey Stockport SK4 3GN September 2020 NYSERDA Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Revision and Amendment Register Version Summary of Approved Number Date Section(s) Page(s) Changes by Acknowledgments This report was prepared by Normandeau Associates, Inc., while performing work contracted for and sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (hereafter NYSERDA). 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Summer 2016–Spring 2019 Seasonal Surveys Large Bony Fish and Fish Shoals iii NYSERDA Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy Contents Revision and Amendment Register............................................................................................... iii Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix Acronyms and Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... x Summary........................................................................................................................................ xi 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 2 Methods .................................................................................................................................... 2 2.1 Target Extraction and Quality Control .................................................................................... 6 2.2 Target Classification and Identification ................................................................................... 6 2.3 Identification Quality Control ................................................................................................... 6 3 Results....................................................................................................................................... 6 3.1 Data Collection............................................................................................................................ 6 3.2 Classification and Identification Success .................................................................................. 8 3.2.1 Bony Fish ........................................................................................................................................ 8 3.2.2 Remora ............................................................................................................................................ 8 3.3 Observation Rates ...................................................................................................................... 9 3.3.1 Bony Fish ........................................................................................................................................ 9 3.3.2 Fish Shoals .................................................................................................................................... 24 3.4 Spatial Distribution .................................................................................................................. 25 3.4.1 Distance from Shore ...................................................................................................................... 25 3.4.2 Ocean Depth .................................................................................................................................. 33 3.5 Offshore Planning Area Post Stratification and Relative Abundance................................. 39 3.5.1 Bony Fish ...................................................................................................................................... 42 3.5.2 Fish Shoals .................................................................................................................................... 49 3.6 Direction of Travel ................................................................................................................... 55 3.7 Fish Shoal Area ......................................................................................................................... 62 Summer 2016–Spring 2019 Seasonal Surveys Large Bony Fish and Fish Shoals iv NYSERDA Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy 3.7.1 Shipping Lanes and Fish Shoals .................................................................................................... 64 3.7.2 Observation Rates of Bony Fish and Fish Shoals near the Hudson Canyon ................................. 65 3.8 Camera Performance ............................................................................................................... 67 3.8.1 Trade-Offs in Image Footprint and Image Resolution Across the Camera Array ......................... 67 3.8.2 Wind Speed ................................................................................................................................... 70 4 Discussion............................................................................................................................... 72 4.1 Large Bony Fish ........................................................................................................................ 72 4.2 Shoals ......................................................................................................................................... 78 5 Literature Cited ...................................................................................................................... 79 Appendix A. Distance (km) from Shore Data for Bony Fish by Season for Each Species ....... 81 Appendix B. Ocean Depth (m) Data for Bony Fish by Season by Season by Species .............. 82 Summer 2016–Spring 2019 Seasonal Surveys Large Bony Fish and Fish Shoals v NYSERDA Digital Aerial Baseline Survey of Marine Wildlife in Support of Offshore Wind Energy List of Figures Figure 1. Transect lines used to collect imagery data in the Offshore Planning Area (showing exact transects flown in survey 2; transect coverage area enlarged for visual purposes). ......... 2 Figure 2. Flight plan used for Near Shore East. ........................................................................................ 4 Figure 3. Flight plan used for Near Shore West. ...................................................................................... 5 Figure 4. Flight plan used for the Offshore Planning Area. ...................................................................... 5 Figure 5. Chilean devil ray with three remoras attached. ......................................................................... 9 Figure 6. Chilean devil ray with two remoras attached. ........................................................................... 9 Figure 7. OPA displaying bathymetry contours (5 nautical miles = 9.26 km). ...................................... 11 Figure 8. Locations of all bony fishes observed in the OPA during the Summer 2016 through Spring 2019 surveys (5 nautical miles = 9.26 km). ................................................................. 12 Figure 9. Locations of all Ocean Sunfish observed in the OPA during the Summer 2016 through Spring 2019 surveys (5 nautical miles = 9.26 km). ................................................................. 13 Figure 10. Locations of all Sharptail Sunfish observed in the OPA during the Summer 2016 through Spring 2019 surveys (5 nautical miles = 9.26 km)..................................................... 14 Figure 11. Locations of all Tuna species observed in the OPA during the Summer 2016 through Spring 2019 surveys (5 nautical miles = 9.26 km). ................................................................. 15 Figure 12. Locations of all Yellowfin Tuna observed