Description

Marine Mammal Observer and Passive Acoustic Monitoring Handbook is the ultimate instruction manual for mitigation measures to minimise man-made acoustical and physical disturbances to marine mammals from industrial and defence activities. Based on more than two decades of offshore experience, and a decade of supplying MMO and PAM services (commercial and scientific), the Handbook is a long-overdue reference guide that seeks to improve standards worldwide for marine operations such as seismic and drilling exploration, wind farm and civil engineering piling, dredging, trenching, rock-dumping, hydrographical surveys, and military/defence exercises. By popular request, this manual will also form an accompaniment to MMO and PAM courses. The Handbook consolidates all aspects of this discipline into one easily accessible resource, to educate all stakeholders (e.g. MMOs, PAM operators, suppliers, recruitment agencies, clients, contractors, regulators, NGOs, consultants, scientists, academia and media), regardless of experience. Topics include worldwide legislation, compliance, anthropogenic noise sources and potential effects, training, offshore life, visual and acoustic monitoring (theory and practice), marine mammal distribution, hearing and vocalisations, and report writing. Advice is provided on implementing sensible and practical mitigation techniques, appropriate technologies, data collection, client and regulator liaison, and project kick-off meetings. Dr Victoria Todd is a founding Managing Director and Marine Science Consultant at Ocean Science Consulting (OSC), and is a Visiting Scientist at Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR, Southampton University, UK). She undertook a post doc in commercial aquaculture at Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS, UK), planning and directing a comprehensive series of acoustic trials on seal scarers. She holds degrees in the ecology and acoustics of bats (PhD, Leeds University, UK), Oceanography (MSc, scholarship-funded by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI, US, and National Oceanography Centre, UK), and Marine Biology (BSc Hons, Liverpool University, UK). Dr Todd is also a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London. She is experienced in Galpagos fish taxonomy, marine mammal acoustics and marine mammal visual and acoustic surveys worldwide for scientific, commercial and defence contracts. Research interests include bioacoustics, the North Sea rigs-to-reefs concept, harbour porpoise foraging ecology around offshore oil and gas installations, and the effects of anthropogenic noise on marine life, all of which are core research topics at OSC. Dr Todd’s current scientific duties include training, survey design and project management, fieldwork, data analysis, reports, literature reviews, advice documents, Marine Mammal Mitigation Plans or Protocols (MMMPs), and publishing. As the Chief Scientist, she also coordinates most research.