SURVEY UWN
How can ports act to reduce underwater noise from shipping?
Identifying effective management frameworks
« Shipping is the most widespread and persistent source of underwater noise globally. In some ocean areas, noise levels have doubled every decade for the past 60 years, primarily due to commercial shipping that has risen with the global increase in economic activity. This type of noise is set to continue to rise in the future, particularly close to shipping lanes and in the Northern hemisphere. At the same time, scientific evidence has proved that underwater noise can lead to physical, behavioral and masking effects in fauna. However, scientific uncertainties remain. For instancae, the bulk of research has focused on marine mammals, and hence there are few data on species-specific limits to noise exposure. The biological impacts on population levels, and the aggregated effects of multiple noise sources as well as the cumulative effects of noise combined with other stressors need to be better understood. »
