This October, Azura’s marine scientists studied the marine megafauna in deep waters off Senegal and Mauritania for Creocean as part of an Environmental Baseline Study (EBS) for Total Exploration & Production. Total is the 5th biggest energy producer in the world.

The goal of these EBSs was to characterize the habitat and biodiversity of two blocks off West Africa prior to drilling operations for oil and gas. The biological and physio-chemical characteristics of the sediment and seawater were assessed during offshore surveys.

During these surveys, Azura recorded opportunistic sightings of marine mammal, sea turtle, seabird, fish, and invertebrate species during daytime visual observations. We also conducted passive acoustic monitoring at night to record vocalizing marine mammals. A variety of wildlife were recorded, including sperm whales, pilot whales, Clymene dolphins, spotted dolphins, common terns, olive ridley turtles, and mahi mahi.