Course plan
The JNCC certified course is devised to be a course for use in UK waters only therefore the JNCC course will be taught as an independent module. This will be followed by a separate short half day on the guidelines as applied in Ireland. There will be a separate Ireland module which will be certified separately (IWDG certificate). The course will be taught in person but all materials will be available via the online teaching platform Moodle.
The JNCC course will begin with a short introduction to marine mammals and noise and after which the course will include the following modules:
Day 1:
1. Marine mammal and turtle identification for UK waters.
2. A brief look at cetacean taxonomy and an exam on UK marine mammal id.
3. Distance Estimation. An examination of correct methods in distance estimation. With some
exercises using a measuring stick and reticular binoculars. A look at some of the common
mistakes in distance estimation.
4. Introduction to completion of the JNCC JIP Effort and Sightings forms.
Morning class will be applied during 5 hour boat trip
Day 2:
1. Description of different UK guidelines for different offshore operations with a brief look at
noise abatement.
2. A description of the UK regulatory system setup and different regulators that exist.
3. A brief look at PAM (Passive Acoustic Monitoring).
4. A look at Health and Safety requirements in the offshore environment.
5. A final exam on JNCC mitigation measures.
Assignments in Marine fauna id (mammals mostly), distance measurement, form completion and mitigation are delivered through Moodle and each person will be assigned a userid and password. Before certification attendees will have to submit all assignments and reach a minimum pass grade in marine mammal id and mitigation exercises.
Irish NPWS Guidelines (Day 2 cont’d)
1. National Parks and Wildlife Service Guidelines and forms are described along with the various regulatory authorities and licencing procedures.
2. Discussion of the various aspects of the guidelines are discussed with a short exam/assignment at the end which must be passed in order to receive IWDG certification.
The modules will be setup as separate courses on www.manadaenv.net with each student having a unique userid and password. Saturday course day will start at 9:00 hrs and finish on arrival back to harbor about 19:00 hrs. There will be short breaks mid morning and mid afternoon and one hour for lunch. On Sunday start will be 9:30 hrs start course will complete by 15:30 hrs typically. Assignments not completed can be finished after the course but are required for certification.
Course facilitator Patrick Lyne can be contacted on patrick.lyne@iwdg.ie
