The Pelagic Association (Pelagisk Forening) in Norway has issued a sharp warning to Norway’s Energy Ministry, saying the government’s plan for large-scale offshore wind development could cause “serious and lasting damage” to fish stocks and the wider marine environment.
In its 10 October 2025 response to the government’s strategic environmental assessment for offshore wind, the Bergen-based organisation said coexistence between fisheries and wind power is “not realistic” in shared areas.
Fishing and Wind Power “Cannot Coexist”
“Fisheries and offshore wind cannot share the same space,” the association wrote. “Coexistence means not building wind farms in key fishing or biological areas.”
It argued that large tracts of ocean would be lost to fishing if wind farms are established, and that projects should therefore be kept to the smallest possible footprint with maximum energy density per square kilometre.
The group opposes opening several of the proposed zones — including Nordvest C, Vestavind E, Sørvest E, and Sønnavind A — saying they are vital for spawning, feeding, and pelagic fishing activity. Concentrating projects only in southern Norwegian waters, it warned, could overload single regions and species.
Criticism of Incomplete Research
Pelagisk Forening accused the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) of failing to assess the total cumulative impact of multiple wind projects.
“It is too late to address such effects at the project stage,” the group said, adding that weak scientific funding has left “serious knowledge gaps” about how turbines and subsea cables affect marine life.
The association said the state is moving ahead with industrial ambitions before understanding biological risks — a breach, it claims, of the precautionary principle. Much existing research, it noted, comes from shallow foreign waters and is “not transferable” to Norway’s deep and open seas.
Threats to Key Fish Stocks
Among the species most at risk, the organisation listed mackerel, herring, blue whiting, and sand eel (tobis).
Several wind areas overlap known spawning and nursery grounds, including sites essential for sand eel populations — a cornerstone of the North Atlantic food web.
It called for complete seabed mapping under the Mareano programme before any new areas are opened, as well as protection of long-term fisheries research stations that restricted access zones could disrupt.
Call for Stronger Safeguards and Research Funding
Pelagisk Forening also demanded that fishing be classified as a “critically important” national interest, higher than its current “significant” ranking in NVE’s weighting system.
The group urged the government to increase funding for marine research “to a level matching state subsidies for offshore wind” and to ensure complete removal of all turbine materials at end-of-life.
“Wind power cannot come at the cost of food security and marine ecosystems,” said managing director Mariann Frantsen. “We need clear proof that offshore wind will not harm life in the sea before any new areas are opened.”