DEFENCE

SMRU Consulting has been actively involved in various projects within the defence sector, both with clients and directly with national defence departments. We strive to provide the best possible outcomes for our clients in what can be challenging and diverse environments. Our work furthers the development of environmental impact and risk assessments for marine mammal populations and the specifically in the development of real time acoustic risk assessment through our PCoD tools.

 Specific project experience includes:

  • PCoD Lite: We explored how the interim PCoD framework could be developed to be applied to US Navy situations. We used this adapted iPCoD framework to forecast the potential effects of disturbance associated with Navy exercises on Blainville’s beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC), Bahamas, and at the Hawaii Range Complex (HRC), Hawaii.

  • PCoD+: The overall objective of this project is to overcome the most important impediments that have limited the implementation of the PCoD framework. PCoD+ is a 3 year project (2016-2019) funded by the Office of Naval Research to build upon all the PCoD works to date.

  • Behavioural Response Studies – Bahamas: We conducted a behavioural response study, alongside a large team of international researchers, to investigate the impacts of mid-frequency active sonar on beaked whales in the Bahamas. It was necessary for the study to be precautionary in its approach as there had to be a balance between the intention not to harm the experimental subjects (beaked whales) and the critical need to obtain empirical data.

  • Cook Inlet Passive Acoustic Monitoring: We conducted a trial of the Decimus® system in Eagle River as part of a multi-year effort led by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), the US Army and Air Force and the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML), to explore applied real-time passive acoustic monitoring on Cook Inlet beluga whales.

For more information on our experience in this sector, please see our blog and publications.