Consulting firms

We design innovative environmental monitoring protocols, tailored to the specific characteristics of each project and the scientific question being addressed, and covering all components of the ecosystem. These protocols may relate to marine megafauna, biofouling, ecotoxicology or other environmental issues specific to the site under study.

• Multimodal monitoring (360° cameras, camera traps, acoustic recorders, hydrophones, environmental DNA, sonar, acoustic telemetry, MOTUS stations)

Monitoring the impact of offshore wind farms and their proliferation on marine megafauna (birds, bats, fish and marine mammals) requires integrated monitoring methods. France Energies Marines therefore offers to support engineering consultancies in setting up multimodal environmental monitoring programmes that combine monitoring methods to meet regulatory requirements, optimise the costs associated with data acquisition and processing, and produce more reliable and comprehensive information..

The support provided includes defining a data acquisition protocol (instrument, acquisition cycle, necessary maintenance), setting up a data transfer process and determining storage methods, configuring an annotation platform, annotating images, setting up and training automated models, and finally analysing the data..

• Monitoring the project’s impact on fish populations using acoustic telemetry

Acoustic telemetry enables the characterisation of the initial state, followed by monitoring of the project’s impact during the construction, operational and decommissioning phases of the wind farm. Our expertise across the entire process—from implementation to data processing—enables us to deliver high-value-added collaboration.

We design the acoustic telemetry network, assist with its implementation (deployment and tagging of target species), analyse the data using processing algorithms and interpret it drawing on our expertise, and then integrate it into the European network (ETN).

• Monitoring migration patterns in relation to weather and ocean conditions

Against the backdrop of the development of offshore wind power in France, the issue of coexistence between these structures and flying wildlife raises significant challenges regarding the public acceptance of wind power projects. It is therefore essential to gain a better understanding of how birds and bats use the marine environment in order to adapt the environmental risk assessment measures for wind power projects. Whilst the feeding and habitat areas of many species are now relatively well identified, migration routes, particularly in offshore environments, remain largely unknown.

The experts at France Energies Marines offer to support engineering consultancies in carrying out statistical modelling using machine learning and interpretable AI methods to provide insights into the relationship between weather conditions and bird flows.

• Implementation of automated data processing models

Drawing on three years of acoustic and image data collected and analysed at the Fécamp mast, we support engineering firms in implementing automated models for in situ data processing for the environmental monitoring of wind farms. These tools help to optimise the volume of data to be processed, improve reliability and enhance the detection of marine mammals and birds.

The support provided involves defining a data acquisition protocol, setting up a data transfer process, configuring an annotation platform, annotating images, setting up and training automated models, and finally analysing the data. France Energies Marines draws on experience in deploying various types of instruments, having acquired and processed several hundred terabytes of video data in less than two years, as well as in developing its own automated models.

• Turnkey solution for measuring the effectiveness of ARC measures
  • Definition of the monitoring protocol
  • Algorithm development and training
  • Data integration for monitoring the effectiveness of interventions
  • Calculation of cumulative effects