The New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan advances the development of offshore wind (OSW) in a manner that is cost-effective while also being sensitive to environmental, maritime, economic, and social issues. Program Opportunity Notice (PON) 5226 supports independent research to improve the scientific and technical foundation for addressing key policy-relevant questions related to the development of OSW and stakeholder-identified environmental and fisheries concerns.The research questions addressed in this solicitation build on the goals of the New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan and support OSW development by providing relevant information to key stakeholders on high priority environmental and fisheries issues. The solicitation addresses key research needs identified as high priority by scientists, fishermen, environmental organizations, New York State and federal regulators, and offshore wind developers engaged in environmental (E-TWG) and fisheries (F-TWG) technical working groups formed under the OSW Master Plan. Through this solicitation, NYSERDA expects to select one or more projects in the following two categories:A. Enhancement of Sustainable FisheriesB. Changes in biological characteristics of benthic