Offshore Energies Magazine - Issue 55 Spring 2023

Calling all marine twitchers!

An invitation to submit your member news Members are invited to submit their news to our editorial team, via email to us at: editorial@OEUK.org.uk Selected stories will be published in this magazine and/or the Member News section of the Offshore Energies UK website

on platforms can enter the data directly via a mobile phone or computer via the Microsoft Lists app, or online from the SharePoint portal front-end. As more people use it in different offshore regions, it is hoped that a clearer understanding will emerge of the impacts that operations can have. This will become more of a focus when undertaking Ecological Impact Assessments. Xodus says the OBP will enable better understanding of ecological processes and help operators to assess marine net gain. The data, which will replace the existing, outdated system, will also help the industry to better understand the interactions between birds and offshore industrial activities.

Engineering consultancy Xodus has launched the Offshore Bird Portal (OBP), a not-for-profit database and toolkit. Xodus hopes that its use will help the offshore industry to advance knowledge and ecological awareness. The consultancy maintains the portal, manages data submissions and even provides an identification service in case of doubt (the picture above shows a gannet, whose UK population is rising). Even records of dead birds can give a better understanding of the geographic distribution and migratory patterns of individual species, it says. And wildlife data is always useful as new strains of flu break out. Data collation can be offshore, either through opportunistic records or regular monthly monitoring. Observers

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