Understanding How Marine Renewable Device Operations Influence Fine Scale Habitat Use and Behaviour of Marine Vertebrates (RESPONSE)

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NERC
NERC
NERC
NERC
NERC

£1,556,900

Sept. 29, 2011

Nov. 30, 2016

With the rapid development and imminent deployment of tidal and wave devices and the expansion of offshore wind power there is a pressing need to understand how marine wildlife is going to be affected by these developments. Existing regulations and mitigation measures are based on assumed effects. Lack of information means that the regulations may be either too onerous and recommended mitigation measures may be unnecessary or ineffective. There is a clear need to improve our understanding of how animals perceive and respond to devices and how these responses affect their behaviour, distribution and ultimately fitness.
The RESPONSE project is a multi-disciplinary study focussing on causal links between marine renewable devices (MRD) and changes in the fine-scale distribution and behaviour of marine vertebrates. The overall aim of the project is to identify and quantify actual risk of negative consequences and therefore remove one key layer of uncertainty in the scale of risk to the industry and natural environment.
The main objectives are to:
1. understand how stakeholders see the risks to the industry and to the environment.
2. measure the fine scale distribution of marine wildlife in high tidal and wave energy sites to understand how seals, cetaceans, birds and
large fish use such areas.
3. characterise acoustic, visual and electromagnetic signals that MRDs produce and assess the reactions of marine wildlife to those cues.
4. use the results in habitat preference models to infer zones of influence and avoidance associated with MRDs at both small and large
scales.
5. develop effective mitigation methods

We will achieve these objectives through a set of inter-related sub projects that will:-
1. bring together a UK wide group of regulators, conservation groups and industry to assess the perception of risk to the industry and
environment posed by negative interactions with marine wildlife.
2. use novel, high resolution GPS transmitters for seals and state of the art passive acoustics, active sonar and visual observation techniques
for porpoises, seabirds and fish to record details of their habitat use and behaviour in and around operational wave and tidal test sites and
an un-developed high energy tide site. These studies will be co-ordinated with FLOWBEC, another NERC/Defra funded project monitoring
the physical characteristics of the marine environment at these high energy sites
3. carryout a programme of physical measurements to characterise the outputs of MRDs that have a potential to cause disturbance to marine
wildlife.
4. carry out a series of controlled exposure/behaviour response trials with captive seals and with wild free ranging seals and porpoises.
5. use visual and acoustic observation data and the operating schedules of existing MRDs to assess the responses of seabirds to MRD
operations.
The results of 1 to 5 will be used to describe the effects of MRDs on individual animals over the short term, i.e. how they react to the stimuli, and over the medium to long term, i.e. how they change their movements and behaviour in response to exposure to the stimuli. These results will be used as direct input to the EBAO project, another NERC/Defra funded project modeling the potential impacts of large scale arrays of MRDs.
This project will provide a step change in knowledge about the existence and importance of adverse effects of MRDs and provide an ability to predict impacts of

Potential Impact:
The environmental impact of marine renewable energy installation, operation and decommissioning on fine scale habitat use and behaviour of marine vertebrates are largely unknown. The benefits of marine renewable energy industry development therefore have to be appropriately balanced against the potential environmental consequences. The RESPONSE project brings together a highly specialised multi-disciplinary team to address these issues. The overarching outcomes of the research effort will directly impact policy makers, regulatory agencies and the marine renewable energy community through the provision of enhanced scientific evidence and development of best-practise methodologies.

Providing a robust evidence base relating behavioural response and habitat use to marine renewable energy activities will enable regulators to make informed decisions regarding the suitability of marine renewable energy development, and enable appropriate consideration of the need for constraints, monitoring and mitigation measures to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Regulatory bodies will therefore be the primary beneficiaries from the research outputs. Understanding the causal stressor-receptor relationships between marine renewable energy activities, fine scale habitat use and marine vertebrate behaviour will also enable technology and project developers to design identified stressor activities out of their system. Example stressors could include noise pollution, physical interaction with rotating turbine blades and the presence of devices introducing new structures in the water column. The impact of each stressor will depend upon the receptor under consideration. An example might be that the presence of an array of devices acts as a no fish take zone (a potential positive benefit). However if the secondary response is to encourage marine vertebrates or diving birds to increase foraging rates in the region, that could lead to increased risk of physical interaction with rotating machinery. Understanding complex stressor-receptor causal relationships is therefore of paramount importance.

The secondary beneficiaries from the RESPONSE project will include:
Wider society through environmental benefit: A developing marine renewable sector will inevitably displace fossil fuel consumption both at home and abroad leading to a reduction in the release of environmentally harmful greenhouse gases (GHG). Reducing GHG emissions will have a direct impact on societal health and well-being. If displacement of carbon-based fuel consumption can be associated with technology that is locally benign, then the benefit will be further increased.
The marine renewable development community: Providing a robust scientific evidence base to enable appropriate regulatory decisions to be made regarding marine energy industry growth and upscaling will remove barriers to industry development. Additionally, providing evidentiary pathways to appropriate mitigation strategies will enable industry to address potential negative environmental impacts through appropriate design modifications. Identifying positive environmental benefits associated with marine renewable energy would also enhance the case for industry expansion.
The UK economy: The energy industry represents 3.7% of GDP in the UK economy. If viable growth can be achieved, the marine renewable sector offers opportunities to maintain the vibrancy of the UK energy industry as the oil and gas sector decreases. Additionally, the UK economy would directly benefit from revenue generation and enhanced security of energy supply provided by generation of indigenous electricity through operation of marine renewable energy technologies. The potential for development of export markets for UK technology and expertise would also have a positive impact on UK GDP, benefit local (often rural) communities and provide significant potential for job creation.