The objective of this initiative is to obtain essential information on the distribution, abundance and habitat of cetaceans in Spanish waters of the Bay of Biscay.

The objective of this initiative is to obtain essential information on the distribution, abundance and habitat of cetaceans in Spanish waters of the Bay of Biscay.

The campaign is part of a broader and more ambitious project called CODA (Cetacean Offshore Distribution and Abundance in the European Atlantic), in which, in addition to AZTI, other research centres in Spain, France and the United Kingdom are participating.

The University of St. Andrews, in the United Kingdom, is the coordinator of the global project. The objectives are to obtain estimates on the distribution and abundance of cetaceans, as well as on the way in which these animals develop in the habitat of European Atlantic waters outside the shelf.

The actions are those related to the carrying out of a summer survey of cetaceans in the waters of the Bay of Biscay from the oceanographic research vessel. Subsequently, within the framework of the CODA project, all entities participate in the pre-analysis validation of data collected from all campaigns, abundance estimates and habitat modelling, the processing of acoustic data and the analysis of the oceanographic and fish data obtained.

More specifically, it is intended to:

• To obtain abundance indices for each species using visual and acoustic methods.
• Determine the critical habitat for each species.
• Specify the acoustic interactions between cetaceans and geological, military and fishing survey equipment.