Figure 4 Deployment of passive acoustic monitoring equipment during marine mammal environmental surveys, courtesy of Fugro.
Function
Marine mammal surveys establish the diversity, abundance, distribution and behaviour of cetaceans (including porpoises, dolphins and whales) and seals within the wind farm boundary and surrounding areas.
What it costs*
About £2.6 million for a 1 GW wind farm.
Who supplies them
Suppliers include ABPmer, APEM, Cork Ecology, ECON, ESS Ecology, Fugro, Gardline, HiDef Aerial Surveying, Jon Ford Environmental, Natural Power (Fred. Olsen), Ocean Information Services, RPS and Seiche.
Key facts
Marine mammals are surveyed to determine how they make use of the proposed area and therefore the different effects that a wind farm may have, including potential disturbance and displacement, physical and auditory injury during pile driving, and both direct and indirect habitat loss (for example through effects on prey species).
A variety of methods are available for these purposes, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. The methods used will be dependent on the species and site in question. Traditional visual surveys using boat and aerial platforms are being supplemented or replaced by new, more accurate technologies such as static and towed acoustic monitoring, tagging of individuals with satellite transmitters and remotely controlled video monitoring supported by artificial intelligence image recognition.
Surveys are typically undertaken monthly for at least two years to establish how these variables change across seasons and between years. The data from these surveys is used to establish the potential impacts to marine mammals that a wind farm may pose.
What’s in it
- Species identification and counting
- Impact models and reports