Marine Environment Mitigation Plan (MEMP)

The MEMP is prepared alongside the EIA, and it lists all the recommended mitigation measures for each specific cruise.

At the end of the MEMP document there is a checklist, which is to be completed by the PI throughout the cruise process and returned to the MEA at the end of the cruise. This lists all the tasks that are to be done in order to follow the recommended mitigation measures for a cruise.

Mitigation

The MEIP uses the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) "Guidelines for Minimising the Risk of Injury to Marine Mammals from Geophysical Surveys" (JNCC 2017)1 as the recommended mitigation measures for certain sound-emitting equipment. These guidelines will be used in the absence of any stricter requirements anywhere in the world, and not only in UK waters.

The guidelines recommend a Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) to keep watch prior to starting up equipment, including the deep-water multibeam echosounder and sub-bottom profiler. MMO training courses are run frequently throughout the year, and further information about these courses and costs can be found here.

1. JNCC (2017). Guidelines for minimising the risk of injury to marine mammals from geophysical surveys. Accessed at: https://data.jncc.gov.uk/data/e2a46de5-43d4-43f0-b296-c62134397ce4/jncc-guidelines-seismicsurvey-aug2017-web.pdf