Federal Strategy on Underwater Noise | Underwater Noise

Ottawa unveiled its underwater noise strategy on August 23, which does not go far enough to protect the biodiversity of our oceans, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Because underwater, there is not only the song of whales, but also more and more noise caused by human activities. A din that can have serious consequences for underwater wildlife.

Noise in the oceans? This is a subject we don’t often hear about…

“Noise and noise pollution caused by human activities [dans l’océan]it’s something that’s been relatively new for about a hundred years,” explains Kristen Powell, a marine conservation specialist at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Canada. As on land, human activities have multiplied, with significant impacts on the oceans. “For the vast majority of ocean species, if we increase the ambient background noise, it’s going to have an effect, which can hardly be positive,” summarizes Pierre Cauchy, professor of marine acoustics at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ISMER) in Rimouski.

Yet the oceans occupy 70% of the surface area of ​​our planet. That’s huge. How can noise have such an impact?

First, you need to know that sounds travel up to five times faster in seawater than on land. The song of a blue whale, for example, can be detected hundreds of kilometers away in the ocean. “We know that a large majority of marine species use sounds. We have known for a long time that whales sing, but beyond that, we also know that there are a lot of species that need sounds to detect predators, to communicate with each other, in a less poetic way than whales. There are lots of invertebrates, small animals that make noise and use these sounds,” Pierre Cauchy emphasizes.

Can we have more specific examples?

Pierre Cauchy points out that researchers from ISMER, affiliated with the Université du Québec à Rimouski, are working on the different growth phases of mussel larvae subjected to different noise levels. “They have shown that mussel larvae do not develop in the same way depending on whether there is noise or not. We can also talk about plankton: the acoustic environment of the place will help them decide if it is a good place to stay,” he adds.

Is the impact of noise on the oceans that serious?

Research has shown that noise from underwater mining operations in the northeast Atlantic has killed several giant squid in the area. A similar phenomenon occurred in 2017 when oil drilling operations decimated a population of zooplankton off the Pacific island of Tasmania.

“This noise pollution that we now know about can affect essential functions for marine species and harm their survival. This can have all sorts of impacts, particularly for species at risk such as orca populations on the West Coast or for belugas in the St. Lawrence Estuary,” says Kristen Powell.

“There are noises in the ocean that can either kill or injure an animal, such as nuclear tests, military sonar or underwater mining,” adds Pierre Cauchy. “These are very loud noises. Other, less loud noises don’t always have an instantaneous effect, but they end up having a cumulative effect on an entire population. They make animals less healthy. This adds to the other stresses suffered by marine ecosystems, such as pollution, overfishing, and ocean warming. Ambient noise becomes another source of stress.”

What is Canada doing about this problem?

A public consultation led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada is scheduled until October 22 following the unveiling of the federal strategy. The next step involves the development of a federal government action plan with a timeline. “The final recommendations and the first draft of the Federal Action Plan on Underwater Noise are expected to be published in 2025. Subsequently, there will be a consultation and engagement focused on the action plan and its implementation,” states the official document.

“Canada committed to releasing its underwater noise strategy in 2016. It was supposed to be released in 2021, it was delayed for several years and it’s just been released,” says WWF’s Kristen Powell. “But we don’t just want a strategy, we want concrete measures to reduce noise pollution,” she adds.

According to M^me Powell, the United States and the European Union each have action plans on underwater noise, which Canada references in its strategy. “We would have liked more ambition and clarity with specific targets and timelines. How long are we going to wait before we act? At this point, it’s a bit like publishing a document… because we have to publish a document,” she laments.

Consult the federal strategy on underwater noise