SEADETECT: Multi-sensor Cetacean Collision Prevention in the Pelagos Area of the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

The Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals is a designated marine protected area in the north-western Mediterranean, encompassing waters between the Côte d’Azur (France), the Ligurian and Tuscan coasts (Italy), and Monaco, extending southward to the northern coastline of Sardinia. This area hosts a diversity of cetacean species. Due to high levels of maritime traffic, the Mediterranean Sea is a global hotspot for whale-vessel collisions. The frequency of both lethal and sub-lethal collisions in the region is considerable, with a general consensus that both direct mortality and long-term population-level effects significantly hinder the recovery and persistence of whale populations. We present SEADETECT, a LIFE programme project aimed at the development of innovative technological solutions to help prevent lethal incidents between cetaceans and ships. Two complementary technical approaches with a combination of different sensors are developed to bring automatic whale awareness onboard vessels in order to avoid collisions.