Restore Blue Blog

Species in the Spotlight: Humpback Whales

emer.shovlin@restore.blue (Emer Shovlin) — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 12:16:20 GMT

Welcome to the Restore Blue Blog. Let's dive in!
Written by Isobel Chaudhuri, our recent school intern, as part of her work experience with Restore Blue.

The humpback whale is often called the gentle giant, the singer of the sea, and one of the ocean's greatest travellers. Its size, intelligence and curiosity have captivated people all over the world, and it is increasingly seen closer to home, in Irish waters.

As offshore wind expands, there is growing interest in how projects can be planned, built and operated in ways that minimise harm to these remarkable animals. The good news is that the risks are increasingly well understood, and there are ways to manage them alongside renewable energy development.

What are humpback whales?

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are baleen whales found in every major ocean basin around the world. Adults average around 14 to 15 metres in length and 25 to 35 tonnes, with females slightly larger than males. They are best known for their long pectoral fins, their acrobatic breaching, and their beautiful song.

The song: male humpbacks sing complex songs, each lasting around 20 minutes and repeated for hours.
The diet: humpbacks filter-feed on krill and small schooling fish, sometimes working together to trap prey with "bubble nets".
The journey: many populations migrate thousands of kilometres each year, between cold, productive feeding grounds in summer and warm breeding grounds in winter.

Humpbacks are also a growing presence off Ireland. Since 1999, the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group has used photo-identification to record at least 140 individual humpback whales in Irish waters, some returning year after year to feed off the south and west coasts.

Offshore wind and whale habitat

Offshore wind farms are a long-term feature of our seas, so it is important to understand how they could affect whales and how those effects can be managed. Without the right measures in place, the main potential pressures are:

Construction

Underwater noise

Pile driving, which hammers steel foundations into the seabed, produces loud underwater sound that can travel many kilometres. It can mask whale communication and cause animals to temporarily avoid the area.

Location

Migration routes

Projects sited on or near migration routes or feeding areas could cause whales to change their path, potentially increasing the distance and energy needed for their journey.

Vessels

Traffic and collision risk

Construction and maintenance bring more vessels to an area. Vessel strikes are already one of the main threats to humpbacks worldwide, particularly where fast ships cross areas where whales gather.

Ecosystem

Prey availability

Seabed disturbance during construction can temporarily displace prey. Once operational, foundations can act as artificial reefs, attracting small fish and other marine life.

Supporting coexistence

Around the world, projects now use a range of measures to protect whales while allowing offshore wind to grow:

Bubble curtains: a ring of air bubbles released around the pile during installation, which dampens sound before it spreads. During construction of a German North Sea wind farm, a big bubble curtain reduced the area where harbour porpoises were disturbed by around 90%.
Soft starts: pile driving begins at low power and builds up gradually, giving animals time to move away before full-power work begins.
Marine mammal observers and acoustic monitoring: trained observers and underwater microphones check that no whales are nearby before and during noisy work.
Vessel speed limits and set routes: slower speeds and agreed shipping routes reduce the risk of collisions.
Careful timing and siting: early planning in the project to avoid sensitive areas and seasons, such as key feeding periods.

In Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife Service publishes guidance for managing the risk to marine mammals from man-made underwater sound. For pile driving, this includes a soft start and a trained marine mammal observer, who must watch for at least 30 minutes and confirm no marine mammals are within 1,000 metres before work begins.

Looking ahead

Offshore wind is central to cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change is one of the greatest long-term threats to ocean wildlife. When protections are designed into projects from the outset, we can expand renewable energy and safeguard humpbacks at the same time.

With humpbacks returning to Irish waters in growing numbers, they are certainly a species to keep in the spotlight!

Species in the Spotlight: Biogenic Reefs

emer.shovlin@restore.blue (Emer Shovlin) — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 15:03:00 GMT

Welcome to the Restore Blue Blog. Let's dive in!

When people think about reefs, colourful coral reefs drenched in tropical sunlight often come to mind. But beneath the waves lies another group of remarkable habitats that are just as important: biogenic reefs.

Biogenic reefs are physical structures formed by living organisms. They are biodiversity hotspots and provide homes, shelter and feeding grounds for countless marine species. Although they may not receive the same attention as their tropical counterparts, they play a vital role in supporting healthy and productive seas.

As offshore wind continues to expand, interest is growing in how these valuable habitats can be protected, restored and, where appropriate, encouraged to recover alongside renewable energy development.

What are biogenic reefs?

A biogenic reef is a reef created by living organisms. These reefs develop over time as animals or plants build structures that become habitats for other marine life.

In Irish, UK and European waters, some of the best-known examples include:

Native oyster (Ostrea edulis) reefs
Horse mussel (Modiolus modiolus) beds
Ross worm (Sabellaria spinulosa) reefs

Healthy biogenic reefs also contribute to wider ecosystem health by filtering water, stabilising sediments and supporting nutrient cycling and fisheries. Unfortunately, many of these habitats have declined significantly over the past century due to trawling, overfishing, pollution and coastal development.

Offshore wind and reef habitats

At first glance, offshore wind farms and sensitive marine habitats might seem unrelated. But as offshore infrastructure becomes a long-term feature of our seas, researchers are increasingly exploring how renewable energy development and nature recovery can work together.

Turbine foundations create hard surfaces in areas that are often dominated by soft sediment. These new structures are quickly colonised by mussels, anemones, barnacles and seaweeds, in what's often called the "artificial reef effect". Over time, these communities can attract fish, crustaceans and larger predators, increasing the local biodiversity around the foundations.

While artificial reefs are not the same as natural biogenic reefs, they demonstrate how offshore structures can provide habitat and influence ecosystem processes. This has prompted scientists, developers and conservation organisations to investigate whether offshore wind farms could also support the recovery of native reef-forming species.

Importantly, this does not mean every wind farm automatically creates ecological benefits. Outcomes depend on site conditions, species present, design, construction methods and long-term management. The goal is not simply to add habitat, but to support functioning ecosystems that complement existing marine environments.

Supporting nature recovery

One of the most exciting areas of research focuses on restoring native oyster reefs within offshore wind farms.

Across the North Sea, researchers are exploring techniques such as introducing suitable reef material, deploying settlement structures for juvenile oysters and designing restoration methods that work alongside offshore infrastructure.

One example is Ørsted's BioReef initiative, run with WWF Denmark and DTU Aqua, which is developing hatchery-based methods to breed European flat oysters and horse mussels for reef restoration, with reef creation in the Danish North Sea targeted for 2027. Pilot projects like this are helping build evidence on what works, what doesn't, and how restoration can be integrated into offshore developments in a practical way.

Building biodiversity into offshore wind

The offshore wind industry is increasingly considering how biodiversity can be incorporated throughout the lifecycle of projects, exploring nature-positive approaches that go beyond avoiding environmental impacts and instead seek opportunities to support ecosystem recovery where appropriate.

Design

Scour protection for habitat

Designing scour protection to create more suitable habitat for marine species.

Materials

Reef-friendly materials

Using environmentally sensitive materials and reef-friendly designs.

Restoration

Native species restoration

Supporting restoration of native reef-forming species where conditions are suitable.

Monitoring

Long-term monitoring

Monitoring biodiversity over the long term to understand how habitats change as wind farms develop.

These approaches are still evolving, and many require continued research and careful evaluation. However, collaboration between developers, scientists, regulators and conservation organisations is helping improve our understanding of how renewable energy and marine conservation can co-exist.

Looking ahead

The transition to renewable energy presents an opportunity not only to reduce carbon emissions but also to think differently about how we manage our oceans.

Biogenic reefs remind us that even relatively small marine organisms can shape entire ecosystems. By protecting existing reefs and exploring opportunities for carefully planned restoration, offshore wind projects may contribute to healthier, more resilient marine environments.

There is still much to learn, but one thing is clear: understanding these remarkable habitats is becoming an increasingly important part of the conversation around offshore wind. As research continues and restoration projects develop, biogenic reefs are certainly a habitat to keep in the spotlight.

Nature-Inclusive Technology: The Next Wave of Offshore Innovation

sarah.cosgrove@restore.blue (Sarah Cosgrove) — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:35:19 GMT

Welcome to the Restore Blue Blog. Let's dive in!

If you work in marine development, whether as an offshore or coastal developer, consultant, regulatory body or scientist, you've probably come across the term 'Nature-Inclusive Design' or 'NID': the practice of designing marine infrastructure so it not only delivers its engineering purpose, but also creates opportunities for marine life to settle, feed, shelter, and thrive.

But since Restore Blue began, we've spent countless hours exploring nature-inclusive solutions from across the globe. As we mapped projects, technologies, and innovations, one pattern kept surfacing: nature-inclusive thinking isn't staying in the design phase anymore.

It's finding its way into sensors, materials, monitoring tools, robotics, data platforms, and construction methods. In short, it's becoming technology.

It's showing up as ROVs restoring seagrass meadows at unprecedented scales. It's satellites monitoring the health of marine habitats from space. It's AI identifying whales from their calls to help reduce vessel strikes. And that's only scratching the surface. Incredible, right?

That's why we're happily adopting the term Nature-Inclusive Technology (NIT) here at Restore Blue. Nature-Inclusive Technology is any technology that actively enables, enhances, or accelerates positive outcomes for nature. While Nature-Inclusive Design focuses on what we build, NIT focuses on how we plan, monitor, construct, restore, and operate in ways that can benefit marine ecosystems.

Together, Nature-Inclusive Design and Nature-Inclusive Technology can help marine development projects move beyond simply reducing environmental impacts. They create opportunities to restore habitats, improve biodiversity, generate better environmental data, and ultimately deliver projects that are better for both industry and the ocean.

In a world where environmental performance is becoming a genuine competitive advantage, Nature-Inclusive Technology gives developers new tools to demonstrate leadership and set the standard for responsible marine development. Furthermore, it gives our oceans a better chance to recover and thrive. And that's something we're all invested in.

Why does it matter now?

Regulatory pressure is increasing across Europe and beyond. Under the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), companies in scope must report on biodiversity (ESRS E4) where it is material to their business, and offshore developers are among those most likely to find it is.

At the same time, the science is becoming clearer. Marine structures, when designed thoughtfully, can function as artificial reefs: attracting fish, supporting invertebrates, and creating complex habitat where there was previously little. The opportunity to turn energy infrastructure into an ecological asset is real. But it requires the right tools, the right knowledge, and the right technologies.

What does Nature-Inclusive Technology actually look like?

Nature-Inclusive Technologies span a wide range of approaches. Let's dive deeper into some of the key categories:

Habitat Enhancement

Eco-Engineered Substrates & Structured Material

Purpose-built materials, including eco-engineered concretes, textured formwork, and 3D-printed artificial reefs designed to mimic natural hard substrate. These provide attachment points for corals, bivalves, anemones and seaweeds.

Monitoring & Intelligence

AI-Powered Species Detection

AI and passive acoustic monitoring are increasingly being used to identify and track marine species around offshore infrastructure in real time, building the evidence base that regulators and developers need.

Survey & Assessment

ROV & Underwater Survey Technology

Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) equipped with high-definition cameras and sensors enable detailed ecological surveys of subsea infrastructure, tracking colonisation, species presence, and habitat development over time.

Ecological Engineering

Engineered Restoration Systems

Technology-enabled systems such as biodegradable growth substrates and engineered seeding devices that support the active restoration of key marine habitats like seagrass meadows and biogenic reefs in areas affected by offshore development activity.

The challenge: knowing what to use and where

With hundreds of technologies now available, and new ones emerging constantly, one of the biggest challenges facing developers and consultancies is simply knowing which solution is right for a specific site. Water depth, substrate type, target species, project stage, cost constraints, and regulatory requirements all vary. What works in the North Sea may not be appropriate in the Celtic Sea.

This is precisely the problem Restore Blue was built to solve. Our platform matches site-specific conditions to the most appropriate Nature-Inclusive Technologies, drawing on a continuously updated database of 200+ solutions, peer-reviewed science, and country-specific regulatory frameworks.

From compliance to competitive advantage

The most forward-thinking developers and consultancies are no longer treating Nature-Inclusive Technology as a regulatory obligation. They're using it as a differentiator, demonstrating to clients, regulators, and communities that their projects deliver genuine environmental value.

Early adoption matters. Projects that integrate NIT and NID from the earliest planning stages are better positioned in consenting processes, more defensible in EIA submissions, and increasingly preferred by financing institutions applying ESG criteria.

The question is no longer whether to integrate nature into offshore projects. It's how to do it efficiently, credibly, and at the right scale. That's where Restore Blue comes in.

Cover photo by Matt Paul Catalano on Unsplash