Following our work on the Beatrice Demonstrator Project in 2005, we developed new approaches for assessing the impact of offshore windfarms on marine mammal populations. Once the Beatrice and Moray East Windfarms were consented, we co-developed and delivered the Moray Firth Marine Mammal Monitoring Programme aiming to test predictions made in these assessments and optimise mitigation measures.
We are now working with a broad suite of academic and industry partners on the PrePARED project, which aims to better understand cumulative impacts and benefits of windfarms during construction activities at the Moray West Windfarm.
Example studies
Benhemma-Le Gall, A., Graham, I.M., Merchant, N.D. & Thompson, P.M. (2021) Broad-Scale Responses of Harbor Porpoises to Pile-Driving and Vessel Activities During Offshore Windfarm Construction. Frontiers in Marine Science 8
Thompson, PM, Graham, IM, Cheney, B, Barton, TR, Farcas, A, Merchant, ND. (2020) Balancing risks of injury and disturbance to marine mammals when pile driving at offshore windfarms. Ecological Solutions & Evidence 1:e12034