Marine automated DETECTion and anti-collision system with cetaceans

ongoing

LIFE-SEADETECT aims to halt the biodiversity loss due to shipstrikes with cetaceans - being the first non-natural threat to large cetaceans’ lives - by implementing and developing new technologies. To considerably reduce this risk of collision, the SEADETECT project aims to develop two innovative systems that can ensure the detection of the cetaceans with a radius range of 1km in most of the weather conditions, day and night in real-time. Our proposal shows that 1km of detection range is sufficient for high speed/high collision risk vessels to change their trajectory in order to avoid the collision with cetaceans (see Other Annexes 7). Our systems will be compound of: - An on-board system with multiple high sensitive complementary sensors that will be fused and processed with artificial intelligence in order to allow equipped vessels to self-detect cetaceans; - a network of Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) buoys that will detect and triangulate the position of cetaceans in real-time in order to prevent collision for all vessels in usual maritime roads. Obtained detections will feed REPCET sharing detection software to inform equipped vessels of the risk of collision. 3 large cetaceans will be saved during the demonstration campaigns. - Three consecutive demonstration campaigns will be led to evaluate the on-board system for a total period of 3 years. This system will be deployed on three specific vessels that represent the highest risk of collision with cetaceans (i.e. high speed ferries). - Two demonstration campaigns of 6 months for the PAM system during the summer (i.e. most dangerous period for shipstrikes) in critical areas (shipstrikes). Huge dissemination and communication actions will be settled to hugely deploy these close-to-market technologies (500 on-board systems, 14 buoy network systems and 100 REPCET systems). This will ensure at least 100 cetaceans lives saved per year - 25 in the Pelagos Sanctuary - five years after the end of the project.