Data Provision & Interpretation

SMRU Ltd has access to several key data sources on marine mammal distribution around the UK and the rest of the world.  We have developed a dedicated portal to provide efficient and simple access to these data on a commercial basis, thereby ensuring a sustainable, long term and consistent approach to the distribution process.  The portal, known as the Data Gateway, is continually being updated and improved, and provides a range of options from simple downloading of maps showing species distributions or seal haulout locations, through to provision of detailed data reports.  These reports also include an element of interpretation by our specialists, ensuring end users receive the most accurate advice available.

We also provide a bespoke data interpretation service, recognising the increasing requirement for the informed interpretation of complex and sparse datasets in the marine environment.  This has included simulation and modelling of visual survey outputs from marine renewable developments in Northern Ireland and Scotland to assist developers in demonstrating both robust baseline situations and in validating predictions arising from the Environmental Impact Assessment process.  This service is provided by both our senior scientists and by global leaders in numerical approaches to ecology available through our partnership with the Centre for Research into Environmental and Ecological Modelling (CREEM).