Sustained Monitoring Finding/Outcomes for SGHT and FOSGI
Cumberland Bay Acoustic Moorings Deployment January and May 2025
Figure 1 KEP marine biologists are preparing the acoustic moorings
Two single passive acoustic moorings were deployed in January 2025 to listen for whales in Cumberland Bay, following several delays due to the presence of large icebergs in the deployment areas. King Edward Point marine biologists and the project manager worked with the GSGSSI fisheries patrol vessel Captain and crew for this deployment. With South Georgia Heritage Trust and Friends of South Georgia Island support, the team were able to buy a crucial piece of equipment which is needed to locate these moorings and bring them to the surface for data retrieval and servicing every six months.
| Figure 2 Moorings retrieved and redeployed off GSGSSI Fisheries Patrol vessel. |
In May 2025, the marine biologists and the fisheries patrol vessel successfully retrieved and redeployed the two single moorings after five months of recording. Data was sent back to project partners at the Scottish Association of Marine Science for analysis, and humpback whale vocalisations and ship noise have been recorded. In December, the team plan their next retrieval and redeployment, and will be installing a third mooring, which has a special passive acoustic detector which can both detect whales and identify the direction where the whales are calling from. In December we’ll also get the first report back from the acoustic analysts describing the underwater soundscape of Cumberland Bay from summer 2025. Watch this space for more updates then!
