JNCC approved course

PSO course approved by MMS

Next course dates:

MMO course 2nd Mar £95

COURSE FULL

Open courses run at least every 2-3 months; private courses for groups as required.

For the last fourteen years Carolyn's work has concentrated on acoustic disturbance of marine mammals, particularly from seismic exploration. In addition to MMO training, Carolyn is available for consultancy work.  Some examples of the work that Carolyn is involved in are summarised below.

MMO training courses:

In 1996, at the request of the offshore oil and gas industry, Carolyn provided the first ever MMO training course for MMOs in UK waters.  Originally intended as a one-off course, its success was such that it became regularly in demand. In 2003, when mitigation measures were introduced in the US Gulf of Mexico, Carolyn was accepted to train MMOs for work there under the Protected Species Observer Program. To date Carolyn has provided MMO training courses on over 140 occasions to a variety of clients and has trained over 1200 MMOs worldwide - some of whom have gone on to become MMO trainers themselves. Carolyn has set the standard for MMO training courses - in 2003 JNCC contracted Carolyn to write a guidance document on standards for MMOs, MMO instructors and MMO training courses.

MMO work:

Carolyn was the first dedicated marine mammal observer working on board seismic survey vessels in UK waters, and has worked extensively in this field covering all the main types of seismic survey, thus she has substantial experience of the job that she is training others to do.  In addition she has also worked as an MMO on drilling rigs and for dredging operations.

JNCC guidelines and recording forms:

Carolyn has twice been responsible for revising the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) guidelines for seismic surveys and continues to make regular recommendations for revisions to the guidelines based on studies of their operation over the years.  She therefore has a thorough knowledge of the guidelines and the reasons behind their various requirements.  Carolyn has also designed and periodically revises the JNCC Marine Mammal Recording Forms.

MMO data:

Under contract to JNCC Carolyn created the JNCC database of marine mammal observation records from UK seismic surveys, and has been responsible for its maintenance and all data entry to date.  Carolyn has regularly analysed the data returned to JNCC from UK seismic surveys to examine the effects of seismic airguns on marine mammals, and has published the results.  In 2007, in collaboration with RSK Environment Ltd., Carolyn was awarded a contract by the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers Joint Industry Programme on Sound and Marine Life to examine the potential utility and collation of MMO data globally and scope a central database system for managing these data.  As part of this project Carolyn and her co-workers convened an international workshop on MMO data, that was attended by representatives of industry, regulators, academia and MMOs.

Other MMO-related projects:

Carolyn’s experience in this field is recognised worldwide; in 2005 Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Limited contracted Carolyn to perform a review and audit of all aspects of their MMO programme for their operations off Sakhalin Island, Russia.  Carolyn is currently on the steering committee of the recently-founded MMO Association.

Other work:

In addition to marine mammals, Carolyn has had various research interests over the past twenty-five years.  She has described new species and genera of ascothoracids (crustacean parasites of starfish), and has worked on the larval development of barnacles.  Prior to becoming an MMO she worked for JNCC's Seabirds at Sea Team for five years undertaking offshore surveys of distribution and abundance of seabirds and marine mammals.  She has also worked as a teacher.

Academic qualifications:

B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. in marine biology, + teaching qualification (PGCE).

Publications:

See Publications for a list of published papers and reports written by Carolyn.