ObSERVE-Acoustic deployments during WESPAS 2016

Also on-board WESPAS 2016 are some of the ObSERVE-Acoustic team from GMIT and Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. Project website www.observe-acoustic.ie 

In this blog post, Dr Joanne O'Brien (GMIT/IWDG) tells us more about the project...

ObSERVE-Acoustic is a project funded by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht aimed at providing robust data to inform conservation and management by assessing the importance of shelf edge habitats for whales and dolphins. 

The ObSERVE-Acoustic team’s aim on this survey was to retrieve acoustic monitoring equipment deployed offshore since March of this year and redeploy more devices in their place which will be retrieved in November. The acoustic devices are deployed on acoustic release systems at a depth of approximately 1800m. When the ship arrives at the location of the mooring, the team send a unique signal to the acoustic release system located on the bottom of the mooring, once this release system detects this unique signal it will then detach itself from the mooring weight and the array will slowly come to the surface with the aid of a number of buoys for buoyancy. Once on the surface, the array can be easily seen due to the number of orange and yellow buoys but also a light to enable recovery at night.

Static Acoustic Monitoring (SAM) sites for 2015 and 2016 (c) ObSERVE-Acoustic

An acoustic array reaches the surface after release (c) Joanne O'Brien

Autonomous Multi-Channel Acoustic Recorders (AMARs) supplied by JASCO Applied Sciences in Canada are deployed on each mooring as well as Deep C-PODs from Chelonic LTD in the UK. These devices will give us information on the species of whales and dolphins present at these locations and over what timeframe they are using these areas. This is achieved by analysing the recordings made by the devices which detect the vocalisations of whales and dolphins. 

Autonomous Multi-Channel Acoustic Recorder (AMAR) (c) Joanne O'Brien

CPOD ready for deployment (c) Joanne O'Brien

So there was some anxious waiting at these sites while communicating with the release units, waiting for the mooring to come to the surface and getting the kit safely on-board, but thanks to the experienced crew of the RV Celtic Explorer, this was a manageable feat. 

The crew of RV Celtic Explorer getting an AMAR ready for deployment (c) Joanne O'Brien and Mick Marrinan

Western European Shelf Pelagic Acoustic Survey 2016

Introduction (from the Scientists@Sea blog, follow link here for more information)

"The Western European Shelf Pelagic Acoustic Survey (WESPAS) is a new multidisciplinary research survey representing the largest single vessel acoustic survey program in Europe. WESPAS is the consolidation of two existing acoustic surveys (the Malin Shelf herring and the boarfish acoustic surveys) into one. This new survey will be undertaken onboard the RV Celtic Explorer over the coming six weeks covering shelf waters from Northern Scotland to northern Biscay. The primary aim of the survey is to determine the acoustic abundance of small pelagic fish, namely herring, boarfish and horse mackerel for use in stock assessment. The survey grid provides an opportunity for complimentary research to enhance the overall program providing important metrics on the drivers that influence pelagic fish distribution. As well as investigating fisheries, scientists onboard are also investigating marine water chemistry, sampling for plankton, undertaking visual surveys for marine mammals and seabirds and also surveying for whales and dolphins using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM). The survey will also be retrieving acoustic moorings deployed during the blue whiting acoustic survey in March as part of the ObSERVE-Acoustic program. All in all, an action packed survey ahead!"

During the first leg of WESPAS in late mid-late June, surveying for marine mammals and sharks was conducted by Hannah Keogh (Irish Whale and Dolphin Group) around the Hebridean shelf waters off West Scotland and Northwest Ireland. Below is a summary map of her observations during that period which included a sighting of the male killer whale known as 'John Coe' on 18th June near the island of Coll. This animal was seen near The Blaskets, Co. Kerry just nine days later (see here for more info).

WESPAS leg 1 sightings June 2016 (c) Hannah Keogh (IWDG)

(white-beaked dolphin, common dolphin, Risso's dolphin, killer whale, minke whale, humpback whale, grey seal and basking shark)

The second and third legs of the WESPAS survey will take in the waters off West Ireland including the Porcupine Bank and Celtic Sea as well as heading to the canyon systems west of Scilly/Brittany. During this survey period in July, a full team of marine mammal and seabird surveyors will be present from ObSERVE-Acoustic, Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, Marine and Freshwater Research Centre GMIT and MaREI/University College Cork.

Survey route for the second and third legs of WESPAS in July 2016 within the red box

This diverse group of seasoned surveyors includes several members of the Cetaceans on the Frontier team, hence why we will be hijacking the COTF blog here to bring you sightings updates from the WESPAS survey this July!

Day 1 sightings: Monday 4th July 2016

The RV Celtic Explorer left Galway docks at 03:30 this morning and began making its way north off the coast of Connemara and Mayo towards the start of the survey transect lines

Black Rock lighthouse and Achill Island (c) Niall T. Keogh

Strong northerly headwinds and a sea state of 5 made survey conditions challenging and no marine mammals were observed. Some dolphin whistles were picked up on the hydrophone however so the honour of 'first blubber' goes to the passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) operators!

The seabird team had a good day for 'getting the eye in' with 13 species recorded: gannet, fulmar, manx shearwater, sooty shearwater, European storm-petrel, pomarine skua, kittiwake, great black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull, Arctic tern, puffin, razorbill and common guillemot.

 Manx shearwater, one of the most abundant species seen today as we passed by several of their west coast breeding sites (c) Niall T. Keogh

A juvenile and adult razorbill (c) Niall T. Keogh

Sighting of the day however was "RESCUE118" the Irish Coast Guard Sikorsky-S92 duty helicopter, operating out of Sligo, which came over to RV Celtic Explorer in order to carry out some training exercises while we were well to the northwest of The Mullet Peninsula.

"RESCUE118" in action (c) Niall T. Keogh