Port Stephens game fishers believe the Hunter Offshore Wind zone will destroy one of Australia's top marlin fishing grounds.
A Newcastle and Port Stephens Game Fish Club heat map records thousands of tag and release captures over the past 20 years.
More than half of the captures have occurred within the boundaries of the Hunter Offshore Wind Zone, which was declared last year.
Marlin, a popular game fish, is among an array of marine species that Port Stephens fishing and tourism operators fear will be affected by giant offshore wind turbines.
"Twenty years of citizen science shows Labor's Hunter offshore wind farm has been zoned over the highest concentration of marlin in Australia's waters. Coincidence, or a direct attack on marlin as a species and the anglers who chase them?" club president Troy Radford said.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen granted a preliminary feasibility licence for the zone to the Equinor-Oceanex partnership last week.
The licence sits at the southern end of the zone, as far away from Port Stephens as possible.
However, the heat map shows significant numbers of marlin have been caught in the area in the past two decades.
A spokeswoman for Mr Bowen said there were clear requirements for any Hunter offshore wind developer to consult with fishers and avoid, mitigate and offset any impacts on fishing.
"The minister expects recreational fishers will be able to travel and fish within the offshore wind zone," she said.
"While the actual decision will be made on a case-by-case basis, the minister has made his expectation clear about exclusion zones."
Mr Radford said the club had made Mr Bowen aware of its concerns over the past year, including at a face-to-face meeting in Canberra and in follow-up emails and letters.
"In particular, our issue regarding the placement of the Hunter Declared Area directly over the long-established game fish area known throughout the fishing community as the 'Car Park', along with other environmental and business concerns," he said.
"We have had direct written contact with Mr Bowen's office and his senior advisor since early February this year, and they have promised us a meeting as recently as May 3 to discuss these issues further.
"We specifically asked for the meeting to occur before the awarding of feasibility licences. This meeting hasn't happened, and we've been ignored again while trying to positively engage with Mr Bowen and his office."
About 400 wind farm opponents met on Sunday to discuss the next steps in their campaign.
Port Stephens state MP Kate Washington, who spoke at the meeting, told the Newcastle Herald that the federal offshore wind proposal had caused a lot of concern in the community.
"I've met with many local stakeholders and shared their concerns with Chris Bowen. Importantly, in response to community concerns, the site has been pushed south and is largely, no-longer off the coast of Port Stephens, and nowhere near the Myall Coast," she said.
"A lot of the process is still to play out, including economic and environmental assessments alongside more community consultation, so it's very far from being a done deal. The one feasibility licence that's been issued for the southernmost part of the zone, is just that, a licence to test the feasibility of the proposal."
"As the local member, I will continue to listen and advocate for my community and our environment as this process continues to play out."
The Herald recently reported that offshore wind opponents are planning to run in Port Stephens' three wards in the upcoming local government elections.
The independent candidates will campaign on behalf of multiple local groups opposed to offshore wind.
The elections are seen as a precursor to a possible anti-offshore wind candidate running for the federal seat of Paterson.
