Man-made structures have been built into our coastal and marine environments as we respond to the need to generate even more energy. Installed across several soft sediment environments, these structures range from oil and gas installations to harbour walls, wrecks, pipelines, and offshore wind farms. Inevitably, these structures host fouling communities that are often new to the offshore regions – potentially serving as stepping-stones for non-indigenous species as well as providing habitat and shelter for a variety of marine species. The altered local biodiversity affects biological and biogeochemical processes from the water column to the seafloor, either directly (e.g. scouring, organic matter export from piles) or indirectly (e.g. closure or displacement of fisheries) and, hence, ecosystem functioning is also affected at various spatial and temporal scales. ​

But what should happen to these structures when they have been decommissioned? This debate provides the focus of the latest themed article set in ICES Journal of Marine Science, which presents a compilation of new evidence. Decommissioned offshore man-made installations has been spearheaded by Silvana Birchenough, Cefas​, and Steven Degraer, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences​.  “There are 14 peer-reviewed papers helping to shape the science-based evidence”, says Birchenough, “This new research will support ongoing discussions to inform marine spatial planning and future policy decisions on the use and protection of marine resources”. The ecological best practice in decommissioning, rigs/renewables-to-reefs, the influence of man-made infrastructures on fish population dynamics, and commercial fisheries losses arising from offshore pipelines are a few of the research topics included.​​