Tidal energy offers renewable power but raises welfare concerns for fish, marine mammals and seabirds near tidal stream turbines and barrages.
Tidal energy presents genuine welfare trade-offs in the transition to clean energy. Tidal stream turbines in narrow channels where seals, porpoises and diving birds concentrate for foraging create collision risk. Unlike wind turbines, whose impacts on birds are well-documented, the impacts of marine turbines on marine wildlife are less thoroughly studied. The welfare risks are real but potentially manageable through careful siting, acoustic deterrent devices and turbine shutdown protocols during high-wildlife-activity periods. Tidal barrages - which dam entire estuaries - create more severe welfare concerns through disruption of estuarine ecosystems and fish migration. Site-specific wildlife welfare impact assessment and mitigation should be mandatory for all tidal energy projects.