Standard Presentation (15 mins) Australian Marine Sciences Association 2022

Acoustic Telemetry Reveals Megafauna Interactions with Oil and Gas Infrastructure (#180)

Paul Thomson 1 2 , Richard D Pillans 3 , Fabrice R.A Jaine 4 5 , Rob G Harcourt 6 7 , Michael D Taylor 8 9 , Charitha B Pattiaratchi 10 11 , Dianne L McLean 12
  1. Oceans Graduate School, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
  2. The UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
  3. CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, St Lucia, QLD, Australia
  4. Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) Animal Tracking Facility, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Mosman, NSW, Australia
  5. Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
  6. Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) Animal Tracking Facility, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Mosman, NSW, Australia
  7. Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, Australia
  8. The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
  9. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
  10. Oceans Graduate School, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
  11. The UWA Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
  12. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Crawley, WA, Australia

Subsea infrastructure of the oil and gas industry attracts megafauna including turtles, sharks and whales. Potential impacts of this attraction are unknown. We deployed acoustic telemetry equipment around infrastructure to assess its effectiveness in detecting tagged marine animals and to gain insights into their patterns of occurrence around these structures. Acoustic receivers were placed around four oil and gas platforms on Australia’s North West Shelf. Two whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) tagged in Ningaloo Reef Marine Park were detected at North Rankin A and Pluto platforms, located up to 340 km to the north. The shark at North Rankin A was detected infrequently and only 15 times over ~6 weeks. In contrast, the shark at Pluto was detected each day of the 24-day deployment, in total 4894 times, with detections highest during the day but with peaks at dusk and dawn. Our study indicates that acoustic telemetry around platforms may be an effective method for understanding how marine megafauna utilise these structures. We recommend future studies should co-occur with tagging programs at sites like Ningaloo Reef and around the structures themselves to maximise the probability of detecting animals, thereby improving our understanding of how marine megafauna interact with these structures.