New Jersey offshore wind developer launches study on red knot migratory patterns

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind announced today
that it is partnering with Dr. Larry Niles of the New Jersey-based Wildlife
Restoration Partnerships (WRP) and Normandeau Associates to research movement
of endangered red knots off the coast of New Jersey during their southbound
migration.

Red knots, an endangered and federally threatened
shore bird, migrate each year from as far south as Tierra del Fuego, Argentina,
stopping in the Delaware Bay to feast on horseshoe crab eggs before going to
the Canadian Arctic to breed. Atlantic Shores and its partners are assessing
whether red knots fly off the coast of New Jersey during this journey.

Starting this week, WRP will begin attaching
satellite tags to 30 red knots as they stop in Brigantine Bay. The tags will
allow a satellite to collect up to 60 pings on each bird’s precise location,
flight path and varying altitude. Data will be collected near real-time and
more comprehensively analyzed by researchers and Atlantic Shores over the
coming months, said the companies.

Atlantic Shores will use the data towards the
development of an offshore wind project, located 10-20 miles off the New Jersey
coast, that will provide clean, renewable energy that minimizes and mitigates
risk to these birds and the surrounding environment. Atlantic Shores has also
committed to share their findings publicly to inform other researchers and
offshore work.

“Building a truly green future requires that
renewable energy projects are held to a high standard in terms of ecological
impact,” said Larry Niles of New Jersey-based WRP. “I’m encouraged that
Atlantic Shores approached me to launch this study, both to inform their plans
for offshore wind in New Jersey and to further our knowledge of red knot
migratory patterns. This is a great example of how private and public
institutions can work together to improve the lives of people and the natural
world around us.”

“Atlantic Shores leads with science. Proactive
studies like these allow us to produce renewable energy based on cutting-edge,
real-time environmental data,” said Jennifer Daniels, Atlantic Shores
Development Director. “The red knots study is one of the many ways we intend to
use data and insights from the scientific community to responsibly develop our
Lease Area.”