mcbem-2014-01-submission-wwf-en

The Federal government should support finalizing and publicizing the IMO draft Guidelines for
Minimizing Underwater Noise from Commercial Ships in order to raise awareness among
shipping industry groups.
IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) should address the items listed as
‘out of scope’ of the above Guidelines document by developing future guidelines and regulatory
policies that include a global noise reduction target and the inclusion of environmentally
sensitive areas on marine charts.
The proposed High Seas Biodiversity Agreement under discussion via the UN should address
underwater noise, and acoustic refuges for the large whales that use deep sound channels for
communicating vast distances should be protected through identification and designation of
high seas MPAs.
Designation of a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area through the IMO should be considered for an
acoustically important area on the Pacific coast of Canada.
The Province of BC should consider the use of IMO tools such as Areas to be Avoided for
rerouting ships away from sensitive areas such as identified critical habitat.
Underwater Noise in Marine Plans
Recommendation 4: Marine plans should specify noise objectives, and set cumulative noise caps
regionally. They should in part do this by engaging the local community to ensure grass roots support.
Comprehensive ecosystem based marine plans are under development in BC, and provide an
opportunity to address underwater noise as a stressor on the marine environment. In particular, the
Marine Planning Partnership (MaPP) is working to create new coastal and marine plans for the North
Coast, the Central Coast, North Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii, and develop and implement
agreements that lay out specific guidance for day-to-day operations and marine use decisions in the
plan area.
Specific conservation targets could be included in marine plans, e.g., “Keep x % of primary
habitat for y species in acoustically healthy condition.” Or “Monitor baseline levels of ambient
noise, and limit human caused noise-producing activities so that there is no net increase from
2014 measured noise levels.”
Cumulative noise exposure levels, in addition to maximum exposure criteria, should be used as
targets as they typically benefit a broader range of species (whales, dolphins, fish and
invertebrates).
Exclusion of noisy activities altogether from certain habitat areas is a proven successful option,
and should be considered in sensitive habitat areas in British Columbia. 10 Criteria for designating
such areas could include their identification as critical or important habitat for at-risk species.
Marine planning implementation agreements that will be negotiated between the federal,
provincial and First Nations governments should address underwater noise minimization and
mitigation.
10 For example, this approach has been used to ban sonar in the vicinity of the Canary Islands in response to beaked
whale deaths and strandings. Fernández, A., M. Arbelo, and V. Martín. (2013). Whales: No mass strandings since sonar
ban. Nature. doi:10.1038/497317d.
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