UHI Thesis - pdf download summary Offshore power production and marine stakeholders from understanding conflict to impact mitigation Alexander, Karen DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (AWARDED BY OU/ABERDEEN) Award date: 2012 Awarding institution: The University of Edinburgh Link URL to thesis in UHI Research Database General rights and useage policy Copyright,IP and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the UHI Research Database are retained by the author, users must recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement, or without prior permission from the author. 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Sep. 2021 Offshore power production and marine stakeholders: from understanding conflict to impact mitigation Karen Alexander MSc, University of Manchester BA (Hons), University of Strathclyde 2012 A thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Aberdeen Declaration I, Karen Alexander, confirm that the work submitted in this thesis is the result of my own investigation, except for the study described in Chapter 3. This study was conducted in collaboration with the EU FP7 project KnowSeas, although study conception, design, implementation and analysis were led by me. All quotations have been distinguished by quotation marks and the sources of information specifically acknowledged. It has not been accepted in any previous application for a degree. Name of Candidate: Karen Alexander Date: Abstract Little is known about the impact of marine renewable energy installations upon the marine environment and those who use it. Harnessing marine energy will involve the offshore siting of energy extraction devices and their associated infrastructure. This will alter the local environment and substantially modify use and access for a variety of marine stakeholders, potentially leading to conflict. Using the Ecosystem Approach (EA) as a conceptual framework, this thesis aimed to answer the question: What is the potential for conflict between the marine renewable energy industry and marine stakeholders, and how can this be mitigated? The research consisted of three components which used a variety of methods: i) stakeholder identification through a review of the literature and use of a novel interactive mapping method; ii) an investigation of the potential consequences for the priority stakeholder which used a mail survey and in-depth interviews; and iii) an exploration of potential mitigation which used ecosystem modelling. The stakeholder most likely to be affected by marine renewable energy device (MRED) deployment was the fishing industry. Potential consequences included: navigation and safety hazards, loss of access and alternative employment. Further exploration revealed that a loss of livelihood was the all-encompassing concern for fishers, and that skills shortages (transferable skills) may mean that should a loss of livelihood occur there may not be acceptable alternative employment. The modelling exercise indicated that it is not currently possible to definitively predict whether any opportunities which may be created by MRED installation will mitigate any negative effects, and that exclusion zones may actually decrease catches for most fleets. The findings of this study have implications for ‘conflict-free’ development of the marine renewable energy industry. To address this, several policy recommendations were offered as regards to operationalising the EA in terms of marine renewable energy. i Acknowledgements This work was carried out at the Scottish Association for Marine Science and I am very grateful to the staff for provision of resources and helpful advice. I would also like to thank SuperGen, the European Regional Development Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise for funding this work. Completing my PhD has been the most challenging activity I have ever undertaken and the best and worst moments of my doctoral journey have been shared with many people. My first debt of gratitude must go to my Director of Studies, Dr Tom Wilding. He patiently provided the advice, encouragement (and masterful editing) necessary for me to conduct the work and write the thesis. I am also extremely grateful to Dr Sheila Heymans for her unlimited help during the trials and tribulations of ecosystem modelling, and to Dr Tavis Potts for his constant enthusiasm and support. Special thanks also go to my thesis panel, Dr Tim O’Higgins and Dr Dave Hughes for their support and guidance. I would not have been able to carry out this research without the help of a number of people. Thanks to Gustavo Arciniegas and Dr Ron Janssen for their technical knowledge and assistance in the interactive mapping study, and also to Dr Tim O’Higgins for his help with logistics and planning. I am grateful to Marine Scotland Compliance and the Fisheries Officers of the west coast of Scotland for their assistance in ensuring my survey questionnaires reached their intended respondents. Thanks also to those who took part in workshops, the survey and in the in-depth interviews. I am grateful to Dr Graham Tyldesley and Dr Steven Holmes from Marine Scotland Science, and Gail Burns from Marine Scotland Statistics for providing fisheries data. Thanks to Jeroen Steenbeek and Dr Marta Coll for their guidance in negotiating the vagaries of Ecopath with Ecosim, and special thanks are due to Maciej Tomczak for helpful discussions while battling my way through the minefield of ‘model fitting’. Thanks also to Colin Evans and John Bainbridge for ploughing their way through the entire thesis in order to provide helpful suggestions. I would like to thank my cohort of PhD students: Raeanne, Kyla, Bea, Lisa, Adrian, Caroline, Carol and Gavin for keeping me reasonably sane. I was very lucky to be part of such a friendly and compatible group! Most of all I would like to thank my parents for encouragement, unconditional support and for believing that I could do it! ii Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. x List of Equations ...................................................................................................................... xii List of Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. xiii Chapter 1 - Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background and research rationale ................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 Marine Renewable Energy ......................................................................................... 1 1.1.2 The Ecosystem Approach to marine management ..................................................... 6 1.1.3 The Ecosystem Approach to Marine Renewable Energy ......................................... 10 1.2 Aims and objectives ........................................................................................................ 11 1.3 Thesis layout ................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2 - The potential consequences of MRED installations on users of the sea: a ‘Rapid Review’. .................................................................................................................................... 16 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Methods and materials .................................................................................................... 17 2.2.1 Search strategy .......................................................................................................... 17 2.2.2 Data extraction and analysis ..................................................................................... 18 2.3 Results ............................................................................................................................. 18 2.3.1 Studies included in review .......................................................................................