Ocean Science Consulting Ltd.

Marine Mammal Observer and Passive Acoustic Monitoring Handbook Second edition

The industry standard for reducing industrial and defence impacts on marine megafauna, fully revised a decade on from the original.

Victoria L.G. Todd and Ian B. Todd

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  • 524 pages
  • Ten chapters
  • Paperback £65
  • OSC Publishing House®, 2026

About the Handbook

Drawing on more than three decades of offshore expertise from Ocean Science Consulting (opens in a new tab)’s founders, the Handbook covers every aspect of anthropogenic noise-generating operations, from seismic and drilling to windfarm piling, dredging, civil engineering, and hydrographic surveys.

It is the perfect accompaniment to Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) (opens in a new tab), Protected Species Observer (PSO) (opens in a new tab), Marine Fauna Observer (MFO), and Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) (opens in a new tab) training courses (opens in a new tab), and a working reference for everyone already in the field.

Accessible to all stakeholders, it remains the definitive resource for MMOs, PAM Operators (PAMOs), and training organisations worldwide. It is the first title from OSC Publishing House®, an imprint of Ocean Science Consulting Ltd.

‘An indispensable “how to” guide to the growing and increasingly important occupation of marine mammal monitoring, written with clarity and humour by scientists who have extensive experience in this field.’

Dr. Phillip J. Clapham

‘A useful and timely publication… making this the current “bible” for the industry.’

J. R. Gibbens, Marine Mammal Science

New in the second edition

The first edition became an industry benchmark, adopted by practitioners, regulators, and researchers. This edition builds on it with the latest science and a decade of practical insight from the field.

Front and back covers of the Handbook
  • Mitigation in guideline ‘grey areas’ and unusual scenarios
  • Deep-sea mining and floating offshore windfarms as noise sources
  • Low-visibility monitoring with infrared, RADAR, and SONAR, including new results from field trials for the Sound and Marine Life Joint Industry Programme (opens in a new tab)
  • Drones and other autonomous marine mammal detection methods
  • Marine reptiles
  • Lessons from COVID-19 for offshore working
  • Renewed international best practice, with a global table of MMO and PAM guidelines

From the second edition

A selection of new figures, including infrared and RADAR detections of orcas from low-visibility monitoring trials.

Infrared camera image of two orcas surfacing, one with its dorsal fin raised (view larger)
Figure 6.9: Orcas surfacing, seen through an infrared camera. Source: OSC (2024).
Infrared camera image of an orca at the sea surface, showing warm against the cooler water (view larger)
Figure 6.10: An orca at the surface, seen through an infrared camera. Source: OSC (2024).
Two RADAR composite images with potential orca tracks circled at 1–2 km and 2–3 km range, and seabird tracks near land (view larger)
Figure 6.11: RADAR images showing potential orca tracks at 1–2 km and 2–3 km range. Source: OSC (2024).
Two circular SONAR displays showing returns at different range settings (view larger)
Figure 6.12: SONAR displays from low-visibility monitoring for orcas. Source: OSC (2024).
Diagram of a sound wave: bands of compression and rarefaction moving away from a source, above a graph of the same wave as pressure over time (view larger)
Figure 7.1: (a) Compression and rarefaction as sound travels from its source; (b) the same wave plotted as pressure over time. Source: OSC (2025).
Three-dimensional plot of four sine waves comparing frequency and amplitude (view larger)
Figure 7.4: How frequency and amplitude differ across four sine waves. Source: OSC (2025).

Who it is for

Anyone involved in marine mammal mitigation, whatever their training or experience. Complex subjects such as acoustics are explained in plain text with minimal equations, and further reading is suggested throughout.

Observers

Trainee and working MMOs, PSOs, MFOs, PAMOs, and fisheries observers. See OSC’s courses (opens in a new tab).

New entrants

Graduates and school leavers with no prior scientific, MMO, or PAM experience.

Trainers and consultancies

Course providers, and the consultancies and agencies that supply MMO and PAM services.

Equipment makers

PAM equipment manufacturers, suppliers, owners, and distributors, including OSC’s own PAM systems (opens in a new tab).

Clients and contractors

Health, safety, and environmental managers, party chiefs, vessel masters, and offshore installation managers.

Regulators and charities

Government conservation bodies in the UK, USA, New Zealand, and beyond, and whale, dolphin, and porpoise charities.

Science and media

Scientists, research assistants, universities, television, press, and radio.

On the water

Wildlife-watching operators and commercial charter vessel operators, and the Seabird Observer course (opens in a new tab).

Ten chapters, one working reference

Each chapter opens with a summary, and the reference tables cover species distribution, hearing ranges, vocalisations, MMO and PAM guidelines by country, protective equipment and survival training by jurisdiction, and daily and weekly reporting activities.

Download the full contents, foreword, and preface (PDF, 4.6 MB)

  1. IntroductionMarine mammal species and global distribution, hearing, and the effects of anthropogenic noise
  2. Mitigation measuresLegislation, Marine Protected Areas, project planning, operational controls, and real-time monitoring
  3. Sources of anthropogenic noiseShipping, windfarms, dredging, drilling, seismic, pile driving, SONAR, explosions, and deep-sea mining
  4. TrainingBecoming a certified MMO or PAMO, courses worldwide, offshore survival, and medicals
  5. Offshore lifeContracts, mobilisation, conduct, safety, and working on vessels and installations
  6. MMO theory and practiceEquipment, conducting a watch, identification, range and bearing estimation, and low-visibility techniques
  7. PAM theoryThe physics of underwater sound, from frequency and amplitude to the SONAR equation
  8. VocalisationsSound types, functions, and species identification for whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions, and walruses
  9. PAM practiceEquipment, configuration, PAMGuard (opens in a new tab), deployment, monitoring, troubleshooting, and demobilisation
  10. Report writingStructure, content, and formatting for MMO and PAM reports

The authors

Dr. Victoria Todd and Ian Todd are the co-founders and Managing Directors of Ocean Science Consulting Ltd. (opens in a new tab), an independent marine science company headquartered in Dunbar, Scotland, with operations across the UK, Greece, and New Zealand. Together they wrote the original Handbook.

Dr. Victoria L.G. Todd

A British-Greek marine biologist and oceanographer with a B.Sc. from the University of Liverpool, an M.Sc. from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the National Oceanography Centre, and a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds. Her career spans Arctic expeditions, Galápagos fieldwork, UNEP collaborations, and BBC wildlife scripting. A commercial diver, she founded OSC in 2004 and is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, University of Southampton.

Ian B. Todd

A Scottish-Danish engineer and former Third Engineer Officer in the Merchant Navy with P&O Nedlloyd. A trained Health & Safety Officer, SCUBA instructor, BSAC first-class diver, and powerboat skipper, he holds degrees from Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh and a Class IV Officer Certificate from the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency. Since joining OSC in 2005 he has served as Director of Operations across hundreds of offshore campaigns.

Ian Todd and Dr. Victoria Todd holding a copy of the Marine Mammal Observer and Passive Acoustic Monitoring Handbook II
Ian and Victoria Todd with the first copy of the second edition, Dunbar, 2026.

Get the book

£65 paperback, 524 pages

Now available on Amazon

In the UK, the paperback can be ordered directly from OSC. Outside the UK, it is available from Amazon. An eBook edition and a paperback and eBook bundle will follow.

For enquiries about the Handbook, or to contribute data, sightings, research, or other material to a future edition, email mmoandpamhandbook@osc.co.uk.

Order from OSC (UK) (opens in a new tab)   Buy on Amazon (opens in a new tab)   Look inside (PDF)