International Whale Day, discover how our partner Fabrice Amedeo preserves cetaceans
Today, Friday February 19, 2021, is International Whale Day. Find out how our partner Fabrice Amedeo, mobilized for the preservation of the oceans as part of his scientific and educational project, is once again committed to the protection of cetaceans during the Vendée Globe 2020-2021.
Avoiding collisions and respecting ocean ecosystems
Fabrice Amedeo has set up two systems, OSCAR and Whale Shield, to avoid collisions with UFOs (unidentified floating objects) and cetaceans during ocean races, including the 2020-2021 Vendée Globe.
These UFOs are proving to be a threat both to their boats and to the environment. More and more sailors in the IMOCA class are equipping themselves to recognize these UFOs from cetaceans. The stakes are high, and ocean racing has a role to play in terms of setting an example, as well as in the search for innovative solutions that could then be deployed on commercial vessels.
There's a real omerta on the subject. Unfortunately, collisions with cetaceans are frequent, and every time they happen, sailors cite a collision with a UFO for reasons of image. We don't want to be seen as whale killers. On the contrary, I think we need to talk about it, because if 30 IMOCAs launched around the world can't escape collisions with cetaceans, what about the world's merchant fleet?
- Friday, February 19, 2021
- - Onet x Amedeo
Solutions put in place by our skipper
- OSCAR
One of the solutions recently developed to protect against UFOs is the masthead OSCAR system, consisting of two cameras that identify surface shapes and temperature contrasts. It can detect the warm body of a marine mammal up to 600 meters away. Half the fleet at the start of the Vendée Globe was equipped with this system.
If OSCAR detects an animal or object on the surface of the water, in the boat's path, an alarm goes off instantly," explains Fabrice. It's a relatively new tool that relies heavily on data acquisition. In short, the more boats equipped, the more efficient it will be.
- Whale Shield
To ward off nearby cetaceans, the solution installed at the front of the keel bulb, at a depth of 4.50 meters, emits an ultra-sound that is supposed to ward off cetaceans. Five boats were equipped with this system at the start of the Vendée Globe: a full-scale test of effectiveness for this new system, which needs feedback.
Fabrice Amedeo wanted to complement its solutions with other devices
To find out more about the relevance and effectiveness of the Whale Shield, the skipper called on Olivier Adam, bio-acoustician, professor at the Sorbonne University and specialist in cetacean sound emissions. They made a series of hydrophone recordings of the Newrest - Art & Fenêtres monohull.
In ocean racing, it's all about understanding how collisions with potentially silent and stealthy boats happen.
" Fabrice has this constructive approach, he understands the sea and environmental issues, so I think it's really very interesting, " says Olivier Adam.
A day dedicated to marine mammals
This day is also dedicated to the defense and protection of all marine mammals. Whales, already victims of pollution, global warming, fishing nets... are also still hunted, even if the ban was imposed in 1982...
Their decline is due to a succession of disturbances in their marine ecosystem:
- Whales feed mainly on krill, but due to industrial fishing and global warming, the concentration zones of these tiny crustaceans are dispersing and shrinking.
- Every year, marine species suffer the consequences of the 8 million tonnes of plastic dumped into the oceans, dying of suffocation or poisoning from the microscopic plastic particles that break down.
- An increase in collisions with ships due to maritime traffic, rising by 3 to 4% a year.
More generally, protecting whales means protecting the oceans.