Tag: underwater noise

In an initiative to cut air pollution and protect whales in the Santa Barbara Channel region, Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District and partners announced that the Vessel Speed Reduction voluntary incentive program will include for the first time the San Francisco Bay Area. This week, ships began to be enrolled in the program.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare urges shipping industry for more attention on the critical issues concerning marine mammals, like underwater noise pollution and ship strikes. IFAW also encourages industry to follow the example of these companies which have already taken speed restriction seriously with remarkable results, such as COSCO and MSC.

Italian Frincantieri announced that delivered a submarine to the Naval Armament Unit – NAVARM for the Italian Navy. The “Romeo Romei” is built with amagnetic material and equipped with silencing techniques to reduce its acoustic signature.

Marine mammals, such as whales and dolphins, are impacted by underwater noise. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is taking the lead in promoting quieter ships – with an innovative incentive program, Rachel Carmichael, DNV GL, explains.

As ship strikes, vessel disturbance and underwater noise are key threats faced by whales, dolphins and porpoises off British Columbia’s coast, the Vancouver Aquarium’s Coastal Ocean Research Institute, in partnership with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and the Prince Rupert Port Authority, published a new guide for mariners, intended to inform them about the risk of collisions between vessels and marine life and to help minimize vessel disturbances.

On January 1, 2017, the port authority added new incentive criteria to its existing EcoAction program to include harbour due rate discounts for quieter ships. This makes Canada the first country in the world with a marine noise reduction incentive.

The Port of Vancouver has launched a series of project under its 'ECHO Program' with the aim to provide a better understanding of vessel-related cumulative regional threats such as vessel underwater noise and its effects to marine environment.

Sound is critical for the survival of many marine animals. NOAA has released its final Ocean Noise Strategy Roadmap, which will guide the agency in more effectively and comprehensively managing ocean noise effects on marine life during the next decade.

When an endangered orca is in hot pursuit of an endangered salmon, sending out clicks and listening for their echoes in the murky ocean near Seattle, does the noise from the nearby shipping lane interfere with them catching dinner? To find out, scientists measured underwater noise as ships passed their study site 3,000 times. This unprecedented characterization of ship noise will aid in the understanding of the potential effects on marine life, and help with possible mitigation strategies.

 Port Metro Vancouver, with support from the University of Victoria’s Ocean Networks Canada and JASCO Applied Sciences, has deployed a hydrophone listening station that will monitor underwater vessel noise in the Strait of Georgia. Underwater noise has been identified as a key threat to at-risk whales.The hydrophone listening station deployment and monitoring activities are part of the Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Program. The program aims to better understand and manage the impact of shipping activities on at-risk whales throughout the southern coast of British Columbia.“Port Metro Vancouver is mandated by the Canada Marine Act to accommodate Canada’s growing trade demands in a way that is sustainable,” said Duncan Wilson, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Port Metro Vancouver.“We are working together with scientists, shipping industries, conservation and environmental groups, First Nations individuals and government agencies to take proactive action to improve conditions for whales.”The newly-deployed listening station is located under water in the inbound shipping lane of the Strait of Georgia, and will be monitoring and reporting on ambient noise levels, marine mammal detections, and passing vessel noise. Working in collaboration with the Pacific Pilotage Authority and the British Columbia Coast Pilots, the intention is to maneuver as ...