Video monitoring of the Rødsand seal sanctuary

To monitor the diurnal behaviour continuously monitoring is necessarily. This can be done either manually or automatically. To reduce manpower and increase data sampling, we placed two year-round video cameras on a 5-meter pole in the sanctuary approximately 900 meters from the haul-out site. Two solar panels and a wind generator placed on the pole charge batteries running the cameras. Pictures will be transmitted via radio signals to a receiver and a computer in Gedser and from there out on the Internet. The seal reserve can then be monitored 24 hours a day. Pictures will be stored for later examination. Results might reveal a change in number of seals using the haul-out side at Rødsand and their behaviour with the construction of the windfarm.