A JFC Marine Data Buoy is to monitor how noise impacts whales and dolphins was deployed off the coast of Baltimore, west Cork
Wednesday, 7th April 2021
A JFC Marine Data Buoy was deployed off the coast of Baltimore, west Cork, to monitor how noise impacts whales and dolphins as part of Ireland’s first-ever real-time acoustic monitoring project.
This specially designed Data Buoy, sited some 9 km off the coast of Baltimore, will gather data for this project over the next year. The Smart Whale Sounds project is being undertaken by Ocean Research and Conservation Association (ORCA) Ireland, a non-profit organisation based in Cork, in partnership with Rainforest Connection and supported by Huawei Ireland.
Lead researcher Emer Keaveney of ORCA Ireland, who is a marine mammal ecologist, said: “Increased levels of marine traffic from container ships, pleasure boats, speedboats, and eco-tour operators has created a significant noise pollution issue. According to Ms Keaveney “Sound pollution causes as much damage to marine life as overfishing, pollution and climate change, and is believed to cause behavioural changes that interfere with the health and survival of the animals.” An autonomous hydrophone, similar to an underwater microphone will be attached to the buoy. The researchers said it will record whale species in real time and train sophisticated machine learning models to identify different species calls. The data will be used to create a marine wildlife detection and classification model, which has the potential to be applied to other projects across the globe, they added. They said it will assist with identifying and classifying species in Irish waters, their distribution and behaviour, and how noise pollution is changing these patterns.
With over 30 years of experience in business at JFC Marine, our solutions are derived from customer understanding, innovative design, and expert engineering. Our marine division specialises in the engineering, design, and manufacturing of a comprehensive range of polyethene Navigation Buoys, which are designed to offer easy installation and provide a low-maintenance-cost solution to marine navigation.
The Navigation buoys range from Ø600mm to Ø3000mm in diameter and are supplied with a range of solar powered Marine Lanterns to suit all requirements. Lanterns are available with Monitoring and Control system, AIS, GSM & Satellite communications.
We offer a complete range of Data Buoy platforms up to Ø3000mm in diameter, which is suitable for a wide range of monitoring at sea, including Wave monitoring (Height and Direction), Environmental Monitoring (Turbidity/Hydrocarbon etc.), and Meteorological Monitoring (Wind speed & direction, Humidity etc.). JFC Marine Data/Met Buoy provides essential meteorological and oceanographic observations for weather forecasts, shipping bulletins, gale and swell warnings, as well as data for researchers and the general public. We also offer a variety of Mooring Buoys suitable for mooring vessels at sea.
Members of IALA, our navigation and communication buoys and lanterns are manufactured in accordance with IALA guidelines. Designed for use for both inshore and offshore applications our modular designed buoys are designed and manufactured for the most demanding conditions using superior quality materials offering excellent stability characteristics, power system versatility, and environmental credentials.
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