In this episode host, Sabine M. Probst Saavedra, ocean conservation storyteller and organisation director, speaks with Dr. Nicole Todd, a postdoctoral researcher dedicated to understanding how harbor porpoises live, move, and communicate in Ireland’s coastal waters.

Through her research on acoustic monitoring, Nicole studied how underwater noise, one of the ocean’s most pervasive pollutants, affects these sensitive animals. Her work is helping shape how marine protected areas are managed, how we design offshore developments responsibly, and how we can balance renewable energy growth with the wellbeing of marine life. We talked about what it means to listen to the ocean, literally, how sound reveals patterns of porpoise behavior, and how her research is guiding European conservation policy. Because protecting these small cetaceans isn’t just about science, it’s about stewardship: learning to share the sea in a way that allows all life to thrive.

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