ROSA Regional Request for Proposals

ROSA engaged in a thorough, open prioritization process and a range of coordination activities to identify high-priority research topics. ROSA conducted a comprehensive Research Gaps Analysis using the ROSA Fish and Fisheries OffshoRe Wind Research Database (FishFORWRD) that includes research needs from all known relevant sources and ongoing offshore wind fisheries research and monitoring efforts. To ensure no research initiatives were overlooked, ROSA hosted its first Offshore Wind & Fisheries Funder Coordination meeting in May 2024 that allowed for verification of all funded projects and gathered information on topic areas for any open and upcoming RFPs planned for release in the following six months to avoid duplication of efforts. Research needs regional in nature were presented to ROSA’s organizational structure, including its Board of Directors, Advisory Council, Research Advisors, and other interested stakeholders for input using a ranking exercise to further refine and develop the research topics below.

ROSA anticipates offering funding toward the following research topic areas:

1. Supporting Fisheries Access – Up to $1.6 million to fund projects aimed at advancing strategies and solutions to support the coexistence of fishing effort and activity with offshore wind or to mitigate loss of access. The objective of this topic area is to enhance our understanding of the ability of various fisheries to operate within or near offshore wind farms and to foster the development of industry-supported innovations. These innovations may include gear technology, fisheries and stock enhancement, and other non-compensatory mitigation strategies. These projects are expected to provide critical insights and practical solutions for sustaining fishing activity in the context of offshore wind development.
2. Understanding Potential Offshore Wind Impacts to Larval Fish – Up to $1.2 million to support projects to expand understanding of how offshore wind development affects the transport, settlement, and distribution of commercially important larval fish and invertebrates. This topic area seeks to generate new insights that will inform decision-making related to offshore wind siting, fisheries management, and mitigation strategies, ultimately supporting the resilience of commercial fishing in the face of changing use of marine space and environmental conditions.
3. Fisheries Monitoring: Data Integration, Evaluation, & Analysis – Up to $640K to support projects that leverage existing fisheries data to enhance regional monitoring efforts. This topic area is intended to evaluate the applicability and integrity of current monitoring strategies and explore innovative approaches to data integration across methods, sources, and scales. Projects should contribute to advancing methodologies for assessing regional and cumulative impacts on fisheries, with a focus on developing insights that will inform future monitoring strategies.

ROSA facilitates, executes, and promotes research that is Scientific, Collaborative, Objective, and Transparent: our Four Guiding Principles. Should an RFP be announced and projects awarded, any work products, data collected, models, model parameters, data products or tools created by an awarded project must be made publicly available and provided to ROSA. ROSA seeks to fund projects that build on and leverage existing efforts in the region, with research that produces actionable findings.

Background

Offshore wind energy is rapidly expanding in the U.S., increasing the need for a better understanding of its interactions with ocean ecosystems and users, particularly fish and fisheries. To address this need, numerous organizations (e.g., Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, NYSERDA, U.S. Department of Energy, New Jersey Research and Monitoring Initiative, NOAA Sea Grant Northeast Consortium, NOWRDC, and others) have initiated research and monitoring efforts at various spatial and temporal scales. As multiple offshore wind projects have been approved along the East Coast, significant amounts of fisheries data are also being collected at the project level by each offshore wind developer through Fisheries Monitoring Plans, as required by the offshore energy regulatory agency Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). However, critical research questions remain that require a regional approach to effectively inform decision-making.

Experts from ROSA and other institutions in the region in the NYSERDA E-TWG Regional Synthesis Workgroup defined regional research and recommended that regional research addresses questions that: a) require data from a broader geographic scope than a single wind farm site, b) focus on methodologies or mitigation strategies to support environmental research, risk assessments, and adaptive management decisions, and/or c) contribute to a deeper understanding of ecosystem processes, even if these studies occur at smaller scales. Regional offshore wind fisheries research is essential to improving our understanding of the effects of offshore wind on wildlife populations, marine ecosystems, and coastal economies. ROSA proudly serves as a regional science entity whose mission is to advance research, monitoring, and methodologies on the effects of offshore wind on fisheries across U.S. federal and state waters. This RFP is an important step in fulfilling that mission.

Disclaimer

This is a Notice of Intent only. This Notice is issued so that interested parties are aware of the ROSA’s intention to issue this solicitation in the near term. ROSA may issue the described RFP, may issue a solicitation that is significantly different than the described solicitation, or may not issue a solicitation at all. ROSA will not respond to questions concerning this Notice. Once the solicitation has been released, ROSA will provide potential applicants with the opportunity to submit questions.

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