Fig. 3

Chronological order of conducted and ongoing research projects dealing with the combination of offshore wind farming and open ocean aquaculture. Project No. 1, the feasibility study, constituted the basis for all subsequent research. The Coastal Futures Project acts as a key node project to which the other projects either have contributed or by which they have been stimulated because of its transdisciplinary approach. It is visible that: (A) calls the wind farm developers’ attention to offshore aquaculture; (B) and (C) include authorities and fishermen into the planning process for site selection criteria of appropriate aquaculture sites; (D) involves offshore engineers and wind farm developers/operators into the technical part of an offshore aquaculture enterprise; (E) introduces (mussel) fishermen to the co-management idea and appraises the economics of mussel cultivation; (F) supplies authorities with maps and tools to limit regional stakeholder conflicts, and (G) establishing an inshore reference station to support the data collected offshore