[OANNES Foro] Human Noise Pollution Is Harming Ocean Creatures

[Mario Cabrejos]

*Human Noise Pollution Is Harming Ocean Creatures*

Olivia Rosane <https://www.ecowatch.com/u/oliviarosane>

Feb. 05, 2021

https://www.ecowatch.com/ocean-noise-pollution-humans-2650329818.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1



Humans are changing the way the ocean
<https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans> sounds,
and it is having a profound impact on marine life
<https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life>.


A major new literature review published in Science
<https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6529/eaba4658> on Thursday
found that noise from vessels, sonar, seismic surveys and construction can
damage marine animals' hearing, change their behaviors and, in some cases,
threaten their ability to survive.


"When people think of threats facing the ocean, we often think of climate
change <https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/>, plastics
<https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastics> and overfishing
<https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing>," Neil Hammerschlag, a
University of Miami marine ecologist who was not involved with the paper, told
The Associated Press
<https://apnews.com/article/animals-whales-fish-oceans-shrimp-706b47ec67dc979543adaf7127a9d208>.
"But noise pollution is another essential thing we need to be monitoring."


Sound is key to how ocean animals communicate with each other and navigate
their environments.


Underwater, it is only possible to see for tens of yards and to detect a
chemical signal from hundreds of yards away, The New York Times explained
<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/science/ocean-marine-noise-pollution.html>.
Sound, on the other hand, can travel thousands of miles, which is why many
marine creatures have evolved to detect and emit it.


However, the singing of whales and groaning of coral reefs contribute to an
underwater soundscape that is significantly changing because of human
activity. To better understand, a 25-author research team reviewed more
than 10,000 papers on the topic.


For one, the researchers wrote, overfishing and habitat loss have decreased
the sounds generated by ocean life.


"[T]hose voices are gone," Carlos Duarte, study lead author and Red Sea
Research Center marine ecologist, told The Associated Press.


The climate crisis is also altering sounds from geophysical sources such as
sea ice and storms, the study found.


Then there is the noise humans have added through shipping traffic, fossil
fuel exploration and even intentional attempts at deterrence. Evidence
shows that these noises harm marine mammals, but several studies show that
they impact fish, invertebrates, sea birds and reptiles as well.


For example, salmon farms in British Columbia's Broughton Archipelago
installed sonic harassment devices to keep seals from eating the fish, The
New York Times reported. This had the unintended consequence of driving
away killer whales until the devices were removed.


Another example are clownfish, who rely on sounds to guide them back to the
coral reefs where they were born, after drifting on the open ocean as
larvae. But human-caused noise can now obscure the cracking and snapping of
coral, forcing some clownfish to drift forever.


"The soundtrack of home is now hard to hear, and in many cases has
disappeared," Duarte told The New York Times.


While this is distressing, the good news is that something can be done
about it. Noise is what is known as point-source pollution, the study
explained, meaning you can identify the place or activity that is causing
the problem and remove it, reversing its effects.


"In theory, you can reduce or turn off sound immediately — it's not like
plastics or climate change, which are much harder to undo," Francis Juanes,
study coauthor and University of Victoria ecologist, told The Associated
Press.


Despite this, noise is not mentioned in the UN's Law of the Sea B.B.N.J.
agreement or its 14th sustainable development goal, which focuses on ocean
life, The New York Times reported. Researchers hope that their work will
inspire policy makers to take ocean noise seriously and deploy already
available solutions.


"Slow down, move the shipping lane, avoid sensitive areas, change
propellers," Steve Simpson, study co-author and University of Exeter marine
biologist, told The New York Times.

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