platform workers, supply boat crews and skippers, helicopter pilots, 

 pier workers and a few others. 



Interviews 



The offshore oil and gas industry encompasses many various jobs and 

 activites. A goal of the pilot study was to determine if some of these 

 activities and therefore the individuals who performed them were better 

 suited to sighting marine mammals. The interview was constructed to 

 collect information about the workers, as well as their accounts of 

 specific marine mammal sightings. The questionnaire form of the 

 interview was designed to allow easy information transfer to a computer 

 program. The form was ^ery structured and seemed to sometimes stifle 

 spontaneous conversation. 



During the project, the researchers found that if they allowed the 

 conversation to flow freely, at least as much could be learned from 

 each person as when the format was followed rigorously. The worker 

 remained more relaxed and willing to talk. A more informal format 

 allowed the interviewer to modify the questions to suit the worker's 

 position, attitude and knowledge of marine life. Interviews were 

 usually conducted on a one-to-one basis. Although some people were 

 intimidated in that type of situation, it was generally quite 

 successful. Sometimes interviews were conducted in small groups. 

 Three or four workers would start talking and would no longer be 

 talking specifically with the interviewer. At these times, the 

 interviewer was aided by a hand-held tape recorder. The tape recorder 

 made it easier to get everyone's additions and corrections to group 

 discussions. The tape recorder was also useful when the interview was 

 conducted in difficult locations, such as decks of crew boats, flights 

 of stairs, etc. 



Sighting Cards and Posters 



The workers were provided with sighting cards to record actual 

 observations. These cards asked for information about the animals 

 sighted and related events. Distance of the animals from the platform 

 and size of animals were the only estimations required. Most of the 

 questions were yes or no, or multiple choice about some aspect of the 

 observation. Time of day sighted and type of activity on the platform 

 were also asked to permit correlation between marine mammal behavior 

 and OCS activity. 



The posters were designed to help with specific identification. 

 They also suggested to the workers what identifying features to look 

 for when observing the marine mammals. 



C-7 



