There is a worldwide recognition that some man-made (anthropogenic) underwater noise is having a significant and increasing effect on marine wildlife. Some marine mammals are sensitive to this noise, which has been shown to have the capacity to kill and injure them, deafen them and drive them from feeding and breeding grounds. In Northern European Seas the effect of noise from piling for windfarms is a particular area of concern. In many cases, the noise adversely affects already dwindling populations of marine mammals In other parts of the World other cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are of concern. In the seas near Hong Kong, for instance, there is great concern for the effects that construction in the seas would have for the threatened Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin population.
The United Kingdom and other European nations are significantly expanding their offshore construction programmes, mainly as a result of the development of renewable energy sources. The greatest unresolved issue facing these important developments is the preservation of the marine environment. The development we propose, an underwater autonomous monitoring system which we have christened as REMUS (Remote Monitoring of Underwater Sound)
• provides long term monitoring of noise in the marine environment and the presence of
marine animals;
• Is capable of detecting, classifying and warning an operator on the surface about the
presence of a marine animal, so that appropriate action may be taken
• Is able to request mitigation devices to produce a controlled and tailored deterrent signal into the water to drive away animals in a safe way, preventing injury.
This advanced technology will enable construction activity to be optimised, allowing much better mitigation against animal injury whilst providing information essential for allowing marine mammal populations to be maintained in the medium and long term.