Impacts of tidal turbines on marine mammals

Canadas coastal regions are an excellent source of marine renewable energy. These regions are also popular with marine mammals, providing good feeding opportunities. However little is known about how marine mammals will be affected by tidal energy developments. Concerns include the impacts of sound on animals ability to find food and navigate, the indirect effects of changes in prey distribution and abundance, and the direct impacts of collision with tidal energy structures in the water column. The objectives of this project are to better understand how marine mammals interact with tidal energy devices using a combination of traditional passive acoustic monitoring and novel sonar imaging methods. This study will improve our understanding of environmental effects and will contribute to the development of crucial collision risk models. This project will allow SMRU Canada to help move marine renewables forward into a cleaner future, both in Canada and elsewhere in the world.

Faculty Supervisor:

Isabelle Cote

Student:

Frances Robertson

Partner:

SMRU Canada Ltd

Discipline:

Biology

Sector:

Alternative energy

University:

Program: