Impact Assessment & Mitigation
WildOcean provides expert advice on potential impacts to protected species and implement mitigation measures which adhere to best practice and regulatory requirements.
Updates
Impact Assessment
WildOcean specialises in the assessment of the potential impact of marine developments and activities on marine mammals and marine megafauna. Based on the frequency and intensity of the sound output, different species will be affected to different extents. The degree of impact may also vary according to season as many marine mammal species vary in their local distribution density throughout the year. The species involved will also affect the degree of impact as species vary in their sensitivity to various impact types.
WildOcean also conducts assessments of the potential impacts of developments and activities on terrestrial mammal species.
Mitigation
WildOcean provides expert advice on mitigating impacts on protected marine species. Mitigation can involve monitoring compliance with the regulatory guidelines (e.g. NPWS & JNCC), monitoring the implementation of a safety zone around the proposed activity (e.g. blasting), implementing measures to reduce the impacts of noise output (e.g. bubble curtains or selecting frequencies least harmful to marine mammals), spatial avoidance (avoiding habitats & areas with high densities of protected species) and temporal avoidance (avoiding times of the year when densities of protected species are highest or times of year of particular sensitivity e.g. calving, pupping or foraging).
For terrestrial mammals mitigation measures include exclusion to existing nearby habitat/setts/holts, relocation to new habitat or artificial setts/holts, protective fencing and underpasses, and avoidance of sensitive habitats or times of year.
Implementing new Irish Guidelines during cable route survey, Kilalla, Co. Mayo
Coming Soon!
Assessment of impact of dredge spoil dumping on cetaceans, Co. Cork
Coming Soon!
Monitoring
The sucess of impact assessment and mitigation measures is best assessed by post activity monitoring.