A marketing campaign to look at the abundance and distribution of cetaceans in European Atlantic waters has been underway since 27 June and is scheduled to run till the tip of August, with outcomes probably influencing European decision-making.

SCANS-IV (Small Cetaceans in European Atlantic waters and the North Sea) is the fourth mission of the type since its launch in 1994 and entails the monitoring of whales, dolphins and different porpoises by a workforce educated on the Pelagis Observatory, a assist and analysis unit (UAR 3462) of La Rochelle College and the French Nationwide Centre for Scientific Analysis (CNRS).

At the start of July, off the Bay of Biscay, the French SCANS-IV aerial survey workforce appeared happy.

“It’s confirmed that the slope off Brittany is ‘the place to be’: fin whales, pilot whales, Risso’s dolphin and lots of frequent dolphins and striped dolphins have been noticed, in addition to the primary sperm whale of the mission.”

All through the venture, groups will take turns flying over the Atlantic Ocean, from the North Sea to Gibraltar, to take a census of European cetaceans.

“There’s a nice variety of cetaceans within the Bay of Biscay. And there may be typically a lack of awareness of most species,” Matthieu Authier, a analysis engineer on the Pelagis Observatory, instructed EURACTIV.

Eight plane mobilised concurrently

Given the scale of the world to be surveyed, eight plane are deployed to fly over the waters concurrently, on the identical peak (180 meters) and pace (180 km/h). They comply with well-defined routes for a number of hours to cowl the maritime space in a consultant method.

Contained in the plane, two individuals scan the waters by means of the porthole, and the third one takes notes.

Along with the identification and visible counting, scientists use a digital system on board, STORMM (Airborne optical distant sensing system to help the detection and mapping of marine megafauna), which takes high-definition photos to establish sure species which might be related to one another or to estimate the scale of the teams.

Gray dots: Transects already surveyed

Color: Areas to be surveyed by the totally different European groups.

Blue whale

As for the encounters, the survey groups weren’t dissatisfied. Apart from the classical conferences — striped dolphin, frequent dolphin, Risso’s dolphin — pilot whales, fin whales and Cuvier’s beaked whales had been additionally seen.

The spotlight of the mission was the encounter on Saturday, 23 July, with a blue whale in the course of the Bay of Biscay, about 300 km off the Vendee coast. A “uncommon and memorable” encounter, in accordance with the workforce, as these species are very cell and dispersed. Scientists estimate that there are roughly 3,000 blue whales within the Northeast Atlantic.

The protocol additionally consists of gathering knowledge on different marine fauna akin to birds, turtles, sharks and sharks, in addition to human actions akin to waste and maritime exercise.

European measures

All knowledge will likely be processed and analysed, and outcomes will likely be in contrast with these of earlier surveys to know the distribution and the repartition of the species.

“Between the primary and second mission, we observed a motion of porpoises within the North Sea, a phenomenon that was confirmed in 2016. This could possibly be defined by the motion of preys, but additionally by human actions, because the North Sea is very anthropised,” Authier defined.

Quite the opposite, frequent bottlenose dolphin populations are growing within the Bay of Biscay. In keeping with the analysis engineer, different species’ populations appear comparatively steady, even when extra knowledge is required to find out the long-term dynamics.

This survey needs to be carried out each six years to adjust to assessments Member States are required to do beneath the Marine Technique Framework Directive (MSFD). Relying on the outcomes, the European Union could take concrete measures to enhance the scenario of sure cetaceans in European waters.

This SCANS survey can also be an instance of coordination between European states to implement a joint cetacean monitoring program. It’s financed by eight international locations bordering the Atlantic: Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Portugal and France.

Over the subsequent 15 days, the plane will fly primarily over the North Sea, the southern areas having nearly all been lined. The outcomes will likely be printed on the finish of 2023.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]