Report: New method to assess seal-turbine collision risks

A report which describes a new method for estimating the risk of collision between harbour seals and tidal turbines has been published.

The report, commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage and Marine Scotland, is part of a wider package of studies intended to improve understanding of potential interactions between marine mammals and marine renewable devices.

It presents an estimate of the risk of collision between harbour seals and tidal turbines on the basis of observed behaviour patterns derived from targeted telemetry tracking studies and recent population survey data.

The collision risk associated with a proposed turbine array development in the Pentland Firth was used as a worked example of the method.

The methods developed in the report bring together several different pieces of scientific data:

• The analysis of site-specific seal movement data
• A hypothetical tidal turbine array layout in the Pentland Firth
• Seal tracking studies in 2011
• Seal population survey data for harbour seals in the Pentland Firth and Orkney area

Marine Scotland, as part of its Demonstration Strategy for tidal energy, is funding a further project to design sophisticated combinations of underwater instruments like sonar devices, acoustic monitors, and cameras to observe the interactions between tidal turbines and a range of animals, including harbour seals, diving seabirds and fish.