Abstract
The Biscay Marine Energy Platform ( bimep ) is an offshore infrastructure for the demonstration and testing of wave energy harnessing devices promoted by the Basque Entity of Energy (Ente Vasco de la Energía - EVE). Bimep is located close to Arminza town (Basque Country, Northern Spain) and it consists on an 5.3 km 2 sea area between 50 and 90 m depths where four static submarine cables will be placed, operating at 13kV and 5MW. On the first of June 2009, the General Council on Environmental Quality Assessment of the Ministry of Rural, Marine and Natural Environment of the Spanish Government, on the light of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) o f the bimep project undertaken by AZTI in 2008, decided not to submit the project to the whole Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process. Nevertheless, the Environmental Impact Statement (EISt) of the Ministry, taking into account the great uncertainti es about some predicted environmental impacts, underlined the need to implement the proposed Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) of the EIS. Amo ng other environmental factors and impact over fish communities was foreseen due to sound and vibrations expected to be generated during submarine cable installation . Hence, on August 29 of 2013, the EVE entrusted to AZTI to carry out the EMP of the fish communities during installation of the sub marine cables in bimep , which consist on and active acoustic motorization of fish communities by means of five M3i buoys developed by Marine Instruments ( www.marineinstruments.es ) and placed in each of the fo ur mooring areas and one far enough from BIMEP area to act as control site . The results obtained were compared with those obtained during the preoperational phase of the EMP ( carried on 2012 ) , showing that the observed impacts were in the range of those pr edicted in the EIS of bimep .