Abstract
In response to the EU Blue Growth strategy, the technology behind devices that collect and transform the marine energy is evolving in leaps and bounds. However, the potential environmental impacts derived from the installation, operation and decommissioning of such devices are not yet fully known. Hence, the main aim of the SafeWAVE project is to fill the knowledge gaps related to the environmental effects that may cause the Wave Energy projects. In the framework of this project, Work Package 2 aims to collect, process, analyse, and share environmental data from four priority areas of research: i) Electromagnetic Fields, ii) Acoustics (noise), iii) Seafloor integrity, and iv) Fish communities. Specifically, the objectives of Task 2.4 and this report derived from that are to: inform on the work undertaken to monitor seafloor integrity; describe the methods for monitoring and data analysis; and show the main results obtained. In order to fulfil such aims, three sites where WECs are operating in Portuguese, Spanish and French coastal waters were monitored. The WECs installed at each of the sites operate in the basis of different technologies, at different types of locations and at different project scales. Thus, this deliverable will also pay attention to the differences in the impacts caused by the disparities in the conditions.