At the end of July, FIMRO deployed their first FPOD. An FPOD is a type of Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) device which is used to detect porpoises, dolphins and other toothed whales by their echo location clicks. This Passive Acoustic Monitoring equipment is used to gain information on the activity and abundance of cetaceans around Fair Isle and within the Fair Isle Demonstration and Research MPA.

This device was deployed off the east coast of the island. Whilst we are initially trialling the equipment to see how well it works in the challenging environment around Fair Isle, it is hoped several more devices will be deployed at various locations around the isle as part of the cetacean monitoring project.

The purchase of this equipment was supported by the players of People’s Postcode Lottery through the National Trust for Scotland’s Love our Nature project. Many thanks to Steven Wilson for his support with the FPOD mooring design and with deploying the equipment.