Environmental Consulting

With our local knowledge, experience and exclusive marine mammal databases – the Sea Search team is uniquely placed to provide specialist input to Environmental Impact Assessments and other consulting for cetaceans, sharks and marine life throughout Southern Africa.

An example of contracts we have assisted with:

2022: Contracted Exigent Environmental, to provide a baseline assessment of noise/soundscapes, and marine mammals in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, prior to potential installation of the FSRU (floating storage and regassification unit).

2021-2022: Contracted by WWF-SA to provide training to Saldanha Bay aquaculture industry on Endangered Species and Environmental Management

2021-2022: Contracted to UNam/ BCC project conducting an economic evaluation of the Benguela Ecosystem

2020: Contracted by WWF-SA to provide insight into areas of highest concern for overlap of cetaceans and trap fisheries

2020: Review of impacts of marine telecommunications cables on marine mammals

2019: Review of marine-themed under and post-graduate courses in SA as background to development of potential new multi-institute Joint MSc course led by NMU & IRD.

2019: Lead collaboration between Sea Search & Greenpeace International to conduct cetacean surveys and passive acoustic monitoring at Vema Seamount as part of a Greenpeace expedition (Nov 2019).

2015-2018: Lead researcher on two long-term contracts awarded to Sea Search-Namibian Dolphin Project to monitor dolphin and bird populations in Walvis Bay during major harbour construction projects. Monitoring involved acoustic assessment of sound levels and dolphin presence, boat surveys of habitat use, photo-identification of individual dolphins and assessment of bird numbers. Income from this contract supported parallel scientific research using the same and overlapping data collection.

2012-2020: Over 30 Specialist reports to EIAs on the impact on marine mammals of various harbour expansion and seismic survey projects in Namibia and South Africa for a range of companies including: Enviro Dynamics, GeoPollution Technology, Risk Based Solutions, Pisces Environmental, CCA, Anchor Environmental.

2009 – 2012: Contributed cetacean expertise to several desktop reports for Arcus Gibbs, Aurecon South Africa, Anchor Consulting among others.

2009 (Jun-Oct): Contracted by Aurecon South Africa to report on the potential impacts on marine mammals of the construction and operation of a Liquified Natural Gas offloading Facility by Petro-SA near Mossel Bay, South Africa. Set up and ran series of boat-based and aerial surveys to investigate cetacean distribution and density in Mossel Bay area.

2006 (Nov-Dec): Marine Mammal Observer for Five Oceans Environmental LLC on a 3D seismic survey of a prospect off northern Oman.

2005: Contributed to SA boat-based whale watching industry for DEA Marine & Coastal Management and Anchor Consulting (Cape Town).