Rhode Island’s offshore wind turbines are becoming crab habitat

Far below the surface off the coast of Rhode Island, the bases of offshore wind turbines are becoming something more than supports for machines. Their hard foundations are providing places for marine organisms to settle, creating patches of habitat on an otherwise softer seafloor. Barnacles, mussels, algae and other small creatures can attach themselves to the structures, bringing feeding opportunities for animals higher up the food chain. Jonah crabs are among the species now being found around these installations. Their presence has raised a question that scientists are still working to answer: are the turbines producing new habitat that supports more crabs, or are they simply drawing existing animals into one place?Why Jonah crabs are becoming more important to New England fishermenJonah crabs were once largely incidental catches in Southern New England’s lobster fishery.