On-board training
The MIRACETI association provides cetacean recognition training on board all vessels equipped with REPCET® software. An educational kit has been specially designed for this purpose and is presented to officers on the deck. At the end of the two hours intervention, the officers are able to recognize the various cetaceans and thus to correctly transmit positions in the software. They are also introduced to the problematic of ship strikes as a whole, the risks and, above all, the solutions.
Lectures are adapted to the officers’ level of knowledge and can be presented in French, English or Italian.
This support system is based on the following findings:
Watchkeepers who are aware of the problematic of ship strikes perform better in detecting large cetaceans
Measures to limit the risks of collision exist but require a vector to be disseminated
Shipping companies concerned about the ecological impacts of their activity are demanding information on these topic and on the functioning of the marine ecosystem
New federating approaches must be adopted to develop or boost relations between shipping and environmental managers