The potential of long-range drones for offshore environmental monitoring

In the beginning, these surveys were conducted exclusively as observer-based transect counts (StUK 3; 2007). With the introduction of StUK 4 (Standard Investigation of the Impacts of Offshore Wind Turbines on the Marine Environment) by the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) in 2013, a transition to digital aerial surveys began, which today represent the standard approach.

BioConsult SH has been involved in this development from the start. Since 2014, the company has carried out more than 1,000 digital aerial surveys for environmental monitoring, thereby building up extensive datasets that allow for robust assessments of the impacts of offshore wind farms on seabirds and marine mammals.

Twelve years after the introduction of StUK 4, BioConsult SH is now working on the next technological step: the integration of long-range drones (UAVs) as a new platform for offshore environmental monitoring. UAV missions require significantly less fuel and produce far lower CO₂ emissions, making them a sustainable alternative for future large-scale ecological surveys. At the same time, they ensure methodological continuity by delivering the same coverage, transect design, and image resolution. UAV surveys are fully compatible with existing long-term datasets and regulatory requirements (StUK 4, BSH 2013).

In addition to these advantages, drones offer new perspectives thanks to their modular design: versatile sensor packages can be integrated, enabling a wide range of marine, coastal, and terrestrial monitoring applications in the future.

To make such drone surveys possible, a number of challenges must be addressed, including legal and jurisdictional issues as well as technical limitations. BioConsult SH is pioneering efforts to overcome these hurdles and plans to carry out the first offshore drone surveys later this year.