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University of Miami Study Finds Offshore Wind Areas in Gulf Pose Minimal Impacts to Shrimping Grounds

University of Miami Study Finds Offshore Wind Areas in Gulf Pose Minimal Impacts to Shrimping Grounds

December 9, 2025 | Jamie Moody, Communications Director
A study published in November in the journal Marine and Coastal Fisheries provides new insight into how proposed development areas in the Gulf of Mexico are already being used, helping ensure that the transition to renewable energy does not disrupt existing commercial activities in the region.
 
The study found that wind energy areas designated in the Gulf largely avoid regions heavily used by the shrimp industry, suggesting that offshore wind development would have minimal impact on shrimping activities. Researchers also found that shrimpers largely avoid oil rigs; however, in areas with many rigs nearby, shrimp boats will often find what they called a "sweet spot" distance of about three miles between the rigs, which the researchers say provides a good balance between maximizing the safety of the crew and utilizing the area for continued trawling.
 
A research team led by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) used GPS data collected from shrimp vessels to analyze how these vessels operate around oil rigs, distinguishing between fishing and transit behavior. Brandon Turley, a scientist at CIMAS and NOAA fisheries and the study's lead author, noted that as the ocean becomes increasinly industrialized with oil rigs and offshore wind turbines, stakeholder planning and communication are proving vital to the shrimp industry's coexistence in the Gulf.
 
"To balance offshore energy development with fishing, we need high-resolution vessel data like this to see where activities overlap," Turley said. “Beyond commercial activity, oil rigs also serve as popular recreational fishing and diving sites, highlighting that offshore infrastructure has complex, nuanced impacts rather than being simply labeled ‘good’ or ‘bad,” said Turley.
 
 

The study, titled “Spatial Dynamics of the Gulf Shrimp Fishery: Mechanistic Drivers and Potential Implications for Offshore Energy Development,” was published on Nov. 6 in the journal Marine and Coastal Fisheries

The authors are: Brendan D. Turley1,2,* , Kyle Dettloff2 , Willem Klajbor1,3 , Molly Stevens4 , Lisa Ailloud5 and Kevin Craig6

1) Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA, 2) Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, Florida, 3) Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Miami, Florida, 4) Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, St. Petersburg, Florida, 5) Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Charleston, South Carolina, 6) Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Beaufort, North Carolina,

economic development
gulf of mexico
offshore wind

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