Hello everyone,
I am a researcher at the University of Portsmouth, researching the issue of collisions between ships and marine wildlife. I have conducted extensive risk modelling, but would like to offer vessel crews and managers the opportunity to share their experience and opinions so that they can be incorporated into recommendations. As part of my research, I am contacting companies that manage ships with the hope of contacting vessel crews or managers who are willing to complete an online questionnaire. The questionnaire is fully anonymous and will gather information on participants’ experience and opinions on collisions between vessels and wildlife, and potential solutions.

I would appreciate it if you would be able to circulate the questionnaire link to relevant parties within your company. If you have any questions, I am reachable via james.robbins@port.ac.uk, and willing to discuss this further.

The questionnaire can be accessed at the following link: https://forms.gle/gYhMkUnF9RUpPexK6 and further information is available on the webpage, and pasted below.

Invitation letter
EC Ref No: SHFEC 2021-088
Dear Potential Participant,
I am a PhD student at the University of Portsmouth, interested in shipping activity and how it co-exists with whales, dolphins and porpoise.
I am investigating the experience, knowledge, and opinions of people employed in the shipping industry (who may work on vessels, or manage them from shore) to whale conservation, and how vessels may affect their conservation. This research contributes towards the fulfilment of my PhD, and results of the anonymous responses will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
This questionnaire is completely anonymous and voluntary, and you can choose to participate or not. We are seeking people who are 18 or over, and either work at sea or manage sea-going activities.
If you do participate, thank you very much! You can leave blank any questions that you do not feel comfortable answering. If at any point you decide you no longer wish to participate, you can simply close the questionnaire. By submitting a response on the Google questionnaire, you give your consent for myself and Dr Marley only to use the anonymous data for analysis.
If you decide not to participate, that is okay - thank you for your time in considering our project.
More information is available on the participant information sheet below. If you have any queries regarding the questionnaire, please contact either myself (james.robbins@port.ac.uk) or my project supervisor (sarah.marley@port.ac.uk).

The questionnaire can be accessed at the following link: https://forms.gle/gYhMkUnF9RUpPexK6

All the best,
James Robbins