While no collisions between marine mammals and tidal turbines have been observed, regulators continue to have concerns about potential impacts. Addressing these concerns can improve project permitting timeframes and reduce costs to developers. This project investigated the risk to marine mammals, including the consequences to the animal of a collision and the likelihood of a collision happening. Specifically, project researchers estimated the biomechanical properties of the skin and underlying tissues (in addition to the morphology and mass) of harbor seals; modeled the mechanics and forces associated with collision and assessed the consequences to tissues and the general physiological state of the harbor seal struck by a tidal turbine blade; and utilized information on the behavior of harbor seals in tidal waters and around tidal turbines to determine the risk of collision with a turbine blade.
