Commercial Vessel Restrictions: Southern Right Whales Protected in the US and Canada
Masters and crews who operate along the US/Canadian East Coast must now keep a lookout for North Atlantic Right whales, who live almost exclusively in this region. Transport Canada has recently announced that during the 2023 whale season, vessel traffic measures will be enforced in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, from 19 April to 15 […]
New study finds that dolphins “shout” to compensate for high underwater noise levels
Oceans are full of sound. Waves, earthquakes and calving icebergs all contribute to the underwater soundscape. But so do human activities, with activities such as shipping, pile driving and sonar air-guns all contributing to the amount of noise present in the ocean. According to the European Commission, underwater background noise levels have doubled every decade […]
International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) praises stakeholder cooperation in efforts to protect whales
Shipping has long been identified as one of the major threats to cetaceans, not only through vessel strikes, but also through noise generated by ships, which can disrupt vital behaviours, like feeding, navigation and migration of cetaceans and other marine animals. Significant steps have already been taken by the industry to protect marine mammals, with […]
Human-induced ocean noise threatens marine life
OceanCare released a video calling for a quieter ocean for marine life. Ocean noise poses a serious threat to marine animals and is predominantly caused by the petroleum industry searching for hydrocarbon resources, navies and shipping. Seismic airguns, which you hear at the end of the video, are used to search the seabed for oil […]
NOAA and US Navy launch new web portal for SanctSound
26th April 2022 – NOAA and the U.S. Navy are pleased to announce the launch of a new web portal for the Sanctuary Soundscape Monitoring Project, or SanctSound. The portal allows the public to listen to underwater sounds and learn more about how sound monitoring can be an important tool in the protection of national […]
CETIROISE: Listening to cetaceans in the Iroise Sea
The Iroise Natural Marine Park hosts 2 coastal bottlenose dolphin groups, but is also an important area for other cetacean such as common dolphins, harbour porpoises, fin whales, Risso’s dolphins, pilot whales… These species are threatened by bycatching, disturbances, noise pollution, ship collisions… Knowledge of these species is still difficult to acquire. It is also […]
Marine Mammals and Renewable Energy
Marine mammals of all sizes are always a welcome sight for visitors to the UK coastline. But while they are abundant in British waters, especially in Scotland, they now face a new challenge: coexisting with offshore renewable energy. In this short report released by the authors from the University of St Andrews Sea Mammal Research […]
Workshop: Approaches for Reducing Ocean Noise from Offshore Renewable Energy Development
The Global Alliance for Managing Ocean Noise is hosting a workshop on reducing ocean noise fro offshore renewable energy development on 1st March 2022. Workshop One: ‘Practical Approaches for Reducing Ocean Noise Associated with Offshore Renewable Energy Development’ intends to foster a productive setting for stakeholders across international governing bodies, industry leaders, non- governmental organizations, […]
Impact of offshore wind farms on marine mammals
Seals and porpoises are very sensitive to underwater sounds. To what extent are they affected by offshore wind farms? Researchers at Wageningen Marine Research are investigating this using field observations and computer models, as well as satellite transmitters. It is tempting to imagine an offshore wind farm as an ideal playground for porpoises and seals, […]
Real-Time Acoustic Monitoring of Marine Mammals in the Mediterranean
The passive acoustic monitoring of cetaceans is a research method that can provide unique information on the animal’s behaviour since the animals can be studied at great depths and at a long-range without interference. Nevertheless, the real-time data collection, transfer, and analysis using these techniques are difficult to implement and maintain. In this paper, “Real-Time […]
