Dr. Simon Berrow:

Senator Higgins touched on some really important issues. We need to remember that wind farm companies are competing for licences. There is a bit of a scramble to get in there first in some ways. Some of the areas of interest overlap so we are seeing that in terms of site surveys, one company will go out one day and on the following day, the same team of observers on the same vessel will go and survey the site next door to it. There is significant duplication of effort and a significant increase in disturbance so that this seems crazy. I appreciate that there is commercial competition here so they need all their own data. Where does the State obligation begin and end and where does that of private companies begin and end? We suggest that if there were some data sets that were common to all and could be shared, one would not need to go and do it again. This suggestion has been quite well received by the wind farm companies. It could be whale and dolphin surveys, sea bird surveys or benthic surveys. This approach makes sense.

There is a lot of pressure on them for acoustic monitoring because a lot of the impact of offshore wind would be acoustic affecting acoustic creatures like whales and dolphins. It has been increasingly shown that fish and crustaceans are very acoustic. What is the point in each company having its own acoustic monitoring? Why do we not have an independent acoustic array where each company can tap into that data so they are not duplicating the effort? Does the State step in there and run that array? Is it State-run with industry funding? Can we piggyback other issues such as Dr. Whelan's transponders for tracking salmon through these monitoring stations? Can we meet marine strategy framework directive obligations at the same time? One array can achieve a lot of objectives in everybody's interests. That would be far more efficient for them and far more beneficial for the State. There are examples out there that we should consider.

We mentioned the observed contract. A new contract has been put out for inshore aerial surveys. This is State-funded so the data is freely accessible because it has been paid for by the taxpayer. Everyone can tap into it. This will enable these site surveys but on a larger spatial scale. There are examples that can be done. Perhaps the State needs to be a bit more aggressive in pushing these initiatives.

The Senator mentioned seismic surveys. There are guidelines for that. I will leave it at that and come back later.