Award of Passive acoustic monitoring as a tool for offshore wind farm biodiversity assessments: A...

The Offshore Wind Directorate invites a tender from a suitable contractor to carry out a proof-of-concept pilot study to investigate whether existing Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) recordings collected for marine mammal monitoring can be used to assess differences in benthic communities.PAM has been used to monitor marine mammal species in Scottish waters over the past 10 years. A question remains over whether such recordings can be used to monitor presence and changes in other receptor groups such as benthic invertebrates and fish. There is potential to ‘unlock’ data from the comprehensive PAM network to add value to Scottish marine monitoring programmes. Further, there is potentially the opportunity to understand wider ecosystem dynamics without the need to collect additional data. A selection of recordings will be provided for acoustic analysis to test the utility of PAM as a tool for biodiversity assessment and monitoring.This project has potential to establish new methods to access an improved evidence base and contribute to the process of marine planning, consenting, and licensing of offshore marine renewable developments. It could further improve understanding on the associated potential environmental losses and gains, as well as informing wider marine management.