2003 Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA4 Technical report - Marine mammals (north UKCS)

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA4) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). Twelve marine mammal species occur regularly in the SEA4 area: grey seal, harbour seal, hooded seal, harbour porpoise, white-beaked dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin, Risso's dolphin, long-finned pilot whale, killer whale, minke whale, fin whale and sperm whale. A further eleven cetacean species and four pinniped species are occasional visitors. This report describes the distribution and abundance of these mammals and their ecological importance. The SEA4 area is an important area for cetaceans, but little is known about the abundance or seasonal distribution of many species. Marine mammals make use of sound for a variety of purposes: finding prey, detecting predators, communication and probably navigation. The offshore oil and gas industry generates underwater noise at every stage of the process: during exploration seismic surveys, drilling, production and decommissioning. The effects of these different sources of underwater noise on marine mammals are discussed. The use of explosives for underwater cutting and demolition during the decommissioning of platforms and installations may pose a serious threat to some marine mammals. However, current understanding of the effects of noise on marine mammals is rudimentary. The effects of pollution on seals and cetaceans are discussed, including the effects of oil spills. The diseases to which they are subject are briefly discussed, as are non-oil management issues such as fisheries bycatch.

Simple

Date (Publication)
2003-04-01
Citation identifier
British Geological Survey / BGS_SEA_47
Point of contact
Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role

British Geological Survey (BGS)

Paul Henni

offshoredata@bgs.ac.uk

Custodian

Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC)

enquiries@decc.gsi.gov.uk

Originator
Maintenance and update frequency
Not planned
Resource format
Name Version

Documents
Keywords

SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

  • Species distribution

SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages
Use limitation

The SEAs data were produced as part of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change's Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme; Crown Copyright, all rights reserved. The DECC SEA must be acknowledged in any maps or publications that make use of the data. All the data files are freely available to the public. The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) data portal provides free access to available data and reports which have been produced through the SEA process. The site is run and managed by BGS on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Many files can be downloaded directly from this website. Those that are too large to download can be ordered via the website for postal delivery from BGS. BGS (NERC) has been contracted by DECC to publish SEA datasets on its behalf. All intellectual property rights (including , without limitation, copyrights, database rights and all other rights which subsist or may at any time in the future subsist in the Dataset(s)) in the Dataset(s) ('Intellectual Property Rights') are owned by DECC (formerly the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform). BGS has been authorised by DECC to use SEA datasets for all purposes but on a 'not-for-profit basis'. BGS has been authorised by DECC to pass on SEA datasets to third parties so that they can use them for all purposes but on a 'not-for-profit' basis.

Access constraints
Intellectual property rights
Distance
5  m
Language
English
Topic category
  • Biota
  • Environment
  • Oceans
Title

SeaVoX salt and fresh water body gazetteer
Date (Revision)
2006-01-01
Code
North Atlantic Ocean
N
S
E
W
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Begin date
2003-01-01
End date
2003-01-01
Supplemental Information

http://www.offshore-sea.org.uk/site/index.php

Reference system identifier
OGP / urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326
Distribution format
    OnLine resource
    Protocol Linkage Name
    http://www.bgs.ac.uk/data/sea/home.html

    Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) data portal
    Hierarchy level
    Dataset
    Statement

    This report was prepared by the Sea Mammal Research Unit, Gatty Marine Laboratory, University of St Andrews using various sources as part of the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change's Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment programme. Quantitative information for this area comes from a variety of sightings surveys including the Small Cetacean Abundance in the North Sea (SCANS) survey that took place in July 1994 and the North Atlantic Sightings Surveys (NASS) that took place in July of 1987 and 1989. There are also published cetacean observations made during seismic surveys in 1996 to 1999. Acoustic recordings have also been used to determine the general distribution and seasonal patterns of movement of some cetacean species by Cornell University, Aberdeen University and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee using the US Navy's SOSUS hydrophone array and low frequency sonobuoys. Extensive information on the distribution and abundance of grey seals around Britain is available from studies carried out by the SMRU. These include annual aerial surveys of breeding colonies to estimate pup production and population size, and data from over 100 animals fitted with satellite-relayed data loggers. There is less information on harbour seals; the most detailed information is from aerial surveys conducted during the moult by SMRU and ongoing satellite telemetry studies in eastern Scotland.

    Metadata

    File identifier
    aba64100-c124-4de3-e044-0003ba6f30bd XML
    Metadata language
    English
    Hierarchy level
    Dataset
    Date stamp
    2011-08-30
    Metadata standard name

    MEDIN Discovery Metadata Standard
    Metadata standard version

    Version 2.3.5
    Metadata author
    Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role

    British Geological Survey (BGS)

    Mary Mowat

    offshoredata@bgs.ac.uk

    		Point of contact
     
     

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