Lobsters ‘left stunted’ by wind farm cables

LOBSTERS are being deformed and left unable to swim by wind farm cables, a study has found.

Scientists at Heriot-watt University in Edinburgh exposed more than 4,000 lobster and crab eggs to electromagnetic fields similar to those experienced near underwater cables.

Researchers found lobsters were three times more likely to be deformed after being exposed to the fields, with bent and reduced tail sections the most common deformities, while some had disrupted eye development or puffy and swollen bodies.

They were also three times more likely to fail a vertical swimming test to get to the surface to find food.

Electromagnetic field exposure did not appear to have much impact on crab larval deformities and swimming test success, though they were smaller in size than those not exposed.

With the expansion of marine renewable energy, the number of undersea power cables is rapidly increasing.

Researchers suggested they should be buried under the seabed to protect the animals.

The findings, published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, suggest that “marine renewable energy developments could have a considerable impact on shellfish fisheries”.

Dr Alastair Lyndon, a marine biologist at Heriot-watt University, said: “The electromagnetic field had a much bigger impact on the lobsters.

“We put them through a vertical swimming test ... the exposed lobsters were almost three times more likely to fail the test than the unexposed ones.”