Developing a cost-effective monitoring strategy for coastal cetaceans

These efforts were driven by a need to conserve and protect cetacean species in light of increasing pressures on the marine environment. Four discrete studies were devised to assess historical patterns in cetacean distribution and investigate areas of conservation importance through Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM).The harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena was found to be the most commonly detected cetacean in Northern Irish waters exhibiting a persistent, but non-uniform distribution.

The temporal distribution of this species, monitored in the western Irish Sea and off the north coast of County Donegal, varied across seasons consistently, peaking in winter, while fine scale variations across time of day and tide were found to be site-specific. Further fine-scale spatio-temporal trends (< 5 km) were identified within the Skerries and Causeway Special Area of Conservation (SAC). One deployment location in particular was suggestive of a foraging hotspot, potentially suitable for long-term monitoring through a Marine Protected Area (MPA) framework.