Design and execution of visual aerial surveys for marine mammals to inform offshore wind development in the Gippsland Declared Area (Society for Marine Mammalogy SMM Conference 2024)
Summary
The Commonwealth Government’s commitment to establishing an offshore wind sector in the Gippsland Declared Area (GDA), under the Offshore Energy Infrastructure Framework marks a pivotal moment in Australia’s clean energy transition. With offshore wind energy poised to become a major electricity source, the strategic approach to marine mammal baseline surveys and monitoring has emerged as a key consideration.
In order to meet desired outcomes from survey efforts, an adaptive and responsive survey plan that integrates knowledge, focused on the questions relevant to the management of offshore developments is required. To achieve this in the most efficient way, it is recommended that a collaborative approach involving proponents, consultants, researchers, stakeholders, Traditional Owners and regulators (NOPSEMA, DCCEWW, EPA) is applied. This regional collaboration would be tasked with exploring optimal survey designs, monitoring methodologies and data sharing opportunities. This collaborative approach should also access the lessons learned from global leaders in this space to assist in survey design. Particular attention is required to address concerns around endangered species such as blue and southern right whales and efforts should be made to align with the efforts of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and the National Guidelines for the Survey of Cetaceans Marine Turtles and the Dugong.
Key topics for consideration:
- Optimal Survey Design:
- Exploration of emerging and available technologies
- Consideration of coverage and incorporation of other data sources such as metocean-oceanography and existing MMO sightings data
- Monitoring Methods:
- Utilisation of aerial surveys, acoustics, and potentially tagging techniques
- Data Sharing:
- Enhancing baseline data robustness through collaborative efforts and standardisation of QAQC processes
- Supporting cumulative and strategic assessments for sustainable development
- Encouragement of regional collaboration (data sharing) between proponents for optimisation of survey efforts.