A Sea of Trouble, Falling on Deaf Ears

Think about a typical person’s day. The sound of the alarm clock drags them from bed. They listen to the radio as they drive to work, maybe use their horn to signal to another driver that is about to cut them off. They listen to their friends discuss current issues when they are at work. They go home and listen to the news until the timer on the oven lets them know their dinner is ready. And then they go to sleep in their quiet bedroom. Think about how many times in a typical day you rely on sound.

Now, think about a bar. Think about a really popular bar with a local band playing. If you want to talk to your friends, you’re going to have to raise your voice. Even with your voice raised, you might have to repeat yourself once or twice. Now, imagine that every hour, of every day, is as noisy as that popular bar with a local band playing.

Thanks to a massive increase in private boaters, large tankers, seismic testing, underwater construction, and naval sonar, the ocean is an ecosystem full of sound and creatures relying on those sounds; the ocean is becoming a deafening place for species to live in and animals are finding it difficult to communicate. In the bioacoustic world, this is referred to as masking and numerous studies have demonstrated that it is happening. Whales and dolphins are calling out and repeating themselves more often. Their echolocation clicks aren’t being heard, making it difficult for them to find food. Many kinds of species have even started to become habituated to this noise, making it less likely they will flee if they hear a large ship approaching. Additionally, the blasts of low and mid frequency active sonar are possibly causing acoustic trauma for marine mammals and leading to mass strandings around the world.

In recent years this problem has started getting more and more attention. The International Ocean Noise Coalition (IOCN), a coalition of about 150 NGO’s from all over the world, was formed to advocate for UN action regarding this issue, with some success. In recent years there have been resolutions from the UN regarding Oceans and the Law of the Sea that have mentioned and encouraged further study regarding increases in anthropogenic noise. Despite these early steps, there is more that needs to happen before real results are possible. For starters, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from ships, more commonly known as MARPOL, needs to officially adopt a seventh annex addressing ways for current ships to reduce noise pollution and advocate for quieter ships to be more developed. However and most importantly, these issues need to be given serious consideration by the nations of the world, and not simply fall on deaf ears.


Written for SIEL by:
Juan Bacigalupi, 2L