Dear MARMAM list subscribers,
Our new open access paper, published on 14 April, may be of interest to
you: Todd VLG, Warley JC, Todd IB (2016) Meals on Wheels? A Decade of
megafaunal visual and acoustic observations from offshore oil & gas rigs
and platforms in the North and Irish Seas. PLoS ONE 11(4): e0153320.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0153320
*Abstract*
A decade of visual and acoustic detections of marine megafauna around
offshore Oil & Gas (O&G) installations in the North and Irish Seas are
presented. Marine megafauna activity was monitored visually and
acoustically by Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) qualified and
experienced Marine Mammal Observers (MMO) and Passive Acoustic
Monitoring (PAM) Operators respectively, with real-time towed PAM in
combination with industry standard software, PAMGuard. Monitoring was
performed during routine O&G industrial operations for underwater noise
mitigation purposes, and to ensure adherence to regulatory guidelines.
Incidental sightings by off-effort MMOs and installation crew were also
reported. Visual and acoustic monitoring spanned 55 non-consecutive days
between 2004 and 2014. A total of 47 marine mammal sightings were
recorded by MMOs on dedicated watch, and 10 incidental sightings of
marine megafauna were reported over 10 years. Species included: harbour
porpoise (/Phocoena phocoena/), Atlantic white-sided dolphin
(/Lagenorhynchus acutus/), white beaked dolphin (/Lagenorhynchus
albirostris/), common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), minke whale
(/Balaenoptera acutorostrata/), common seal (/Phoca vitulina/), grey
seal (/Halichoerus grypus/) and, basking shark (/Cetorhinus maximus/).
Passive Acoustic Monitoring was conducted on two occasions in 2014; 160
PAM hours over 12 days recorded a total of 308 individual clicks
identified as harbour porpoises. These appear to be the first such
acoustic detections obtained from a North Sea drilling rig whilst using
a typically configured hydrophone array designed for towing in
combination with real-time PAMGuard software. This study provides
evidence that marine megafauna are present around mobile and stationary
offshore O&G installations during routine operational activities. On
this basis, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for decommissioning
O&G platforms should be carried-out on a case-by-case basis, and must
include provisions for hitherto overlooked marine megafauna.
Available to download from here -
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0153320
Regards,
--
Dr. Victoria Todd
Managing Director
Ocean Science Consulting Ltd.
GREECE
M: +44 (0)7719 489 415 (GR & UK)
T: +30 2692 041 771 (GR)
T: +44 (0)1368 865 722 (UK)
F: +44 (0)1368 865 729 (UK)
W: www.oceanscienceconsulting.gr
W: www.osc.co.uk
*MMO or PAM requirement?*
We wrote the book /www.marinemammalobserverhandbook.com/**
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