Distribution models of baleen whale species in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone to inform management and conservation.

Irish waters are under increasing pressure from anthropogenic sources including the development of offshore renewable energy, vessel traffic and fishing activity. Spatial planning requires robust datasets on species distribution and the identification of important habitats to inform the planning process. Despite limited survey effort, long-term citizen science data on whale presence are available and provide an opportunity to fill information gaps.

The Use of Deep Water Berths and the Effect of Noise on Bottlenose Dolphins in the Shannon Estuary cSAC.

The Shannon Estuary on the west coast of Ireland is one of Europe's premier deepwater berths catering for ships up to 200,000 deadweight tonnage. It is also Ireland's only designated candidate special area of conservation for bottlenose dolphins under the EU Habitats Directive. Long-term static acoustic monitoring was carried out at a number of intensive shipping sites.