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In 1992, I set up and ran the first dedicated observer programs studying the bycatch of cetaceans in gill net fisheries in the SW of Britain, and subsequently promoted and assisted the development of the ‘Banana Pinger’ as a mitigation tool. I also developed the ‘PODs’ (POrpoise Detectors) that have been widely and successfully used to study interactions between porpoises, fishing gear and pingers. Subsequently I have run other bycatch observer programs and focused on improving these acoustic methods of monitoring as a tool for assessing various impacts and the success or failure of conservation efforts. The ‘C-POD’ has successfully tracked the tragic decline of the Vaquita a porpoise species endemic to Mexico. Nine countries participated in the EU SAMBAH project in the Baltic Sea used C-PODs and showed that the Baltic Harbour Porpoise is not extinct, and a large marine conservation zone has been set up around its, previously unknown, main hotspot. Nine countries participated in SAMBAH. The recently started BlackCeTrends project is using F-PODs, that have superseded C-PODs, in 5 Black Sea countries to establish assessment of trends in cetacean populations in the Black Sea. F-PODs are now also in use monitoring the Finless Porpoise in the Yangtze River in China and in multiple by-catch mitigation studies.