Impacts of offshore liquid natural gas (LNG) terminals on local fish populations in Mass Bay

This study examines the effect of offshore liquid natural gas (LNG) terminals on local fish populations. Two LNG sites and two control sites in Massachusetts Bay were surveyed using hydroacoustics during June 2009. Each LNG site contains an identical subsurface structure, and is at the center of an 800 m radius zone where fishing is prohibited. Control sites do not have any structure or fishing restrictions. Hour long surveys were conducted on each experimental and control site on three different dates (6/8/2009, 6/15/2009 and 6/30/2009). This study investigates three main experimental questions. First we ask whether fish abundance increases with increasing proximity to structure. Then, we ask if there are significantly more fish overall on experimental sites that have structure and no fishing than on control sites where there is no structure, and fishing is allowed. Finally, we ask if trends in vertical distribution of fish occur on all sites and dates. Results indicate that there is no relationship between fish abundance and distance from structure. Overall fish abundance is significantly higher on one of the experimental sites (NEGB), but the other experimental site (NEGA) and the two control sites do not differ from each other. Additionally, significantly more fish were present on the third date of data collection. Finally, there was a distinct trend in vertical distribution of fish regardless of site or date. There were significantly more fish in the bottom 10.3 m of water than in other parts of the water column. Cumulatively, these results indicate that the Massachusetts Bay LNG structures do not have a significant impact on fish abundance or distribution, contrasting with previous reports of fish aggregation around other offshore structures. Instead, environmental factors and site location appear to have greater impacts on fish abundance than the presence of structure.