Oceans of noise - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Art 209 LOSC focuses on both standard setting at the international level and adoption of laws andregulations at the national level. The former is particularly relevant because of the internationalnature of the Area and its resources. Art 209(1) LOSC states:International rules, regulations and procedures shall be established in accordance with Part XIto prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from activities in theArea. Such rules, regulations and procedures shall be re-examined from time to time asnecessary.Art 209 LOSC is complemented by, inter alia, Art 145 LOSC in Part XI. Art 145 LOSCrequires, inter alia, that “[n]ecessary measures shall be taken in accordance with this Conventionwith respect to activities in the Area to ensure effective protection for the marine environmentfrom harmful effects which may arise from such activities”. Art 145(a) LOSC requires that tothis end the Authority shall adopt appropriate rules, regulations and procedures for:the prevention, reduction and control of pollution and other hazards to the marineenvironment, including the coastline, and of interference with the ecological balance of themarine environment, particular attention being paid to the need for protection from harmfuleffects of such activities as drilling, dredging, excavation, disposal of waste, construction andoperation or maintenance of installations, pipelines and other devices related to suchactivities;Art 145(a) LOSC refers not only to pollution but also to “other hazards”. Thus if there weredoubt about whether ocean noise is covered by the definition of “pollution of the marineenvironment” in Art 1(1)(4) LOSC, it could instead be considered as falling under “otherhazards”. Though many of the activities listed in Art 145(a) LOSC have the potential to generateocean noise, it is less clear whether the list extends to activities early on in the exploration process(e.g. seismic surveys). However, the listed activities are those meriting “particular attention”rather than exclusive attention.Though exploitation is many years away, prospecting and exploration are taking place now. 98The International Seabed Authority (“the Authority”) has so far sought to implement Arts 209 &98 See for example document ISBA/8/A/5, paras 36-37; available at: http://www.isa.org.jm/ (last visited25.02.03).113
145 LOSC in respect of polymetallic nodules. In 2000 the Assembly approved Regulations, 99 andin 2001 the Legal and Technical Commission prepared Recommendations. 100 Space does notpermit an analysis of these instruments in respect of ocean noise. However, two points will bemade.First, the Regulations do apply, inter alia, to prospecting. 101 This is significant because thedefinition of “activities in the Area” in Art 1(1)(3) LOSC does not refer to prospecting and henceit is unclear whether Arts 209 & 145 LOSC apply to this activity. Yet (a) prospecting forresources is likely to involve noise-generating seismic surveys and (b) prospecting is recognisedby the LOSC as a human activity that is undertaken in relation to resources of the Area. 102 TheAuthority’s readiness to regulate prospecting is therefore promising from the point of view ofcontrol of ocean noise. 103Secondly, and in contrast to the previous point, the Recommendations include “bottom and subbottomacoustic ... without the use of explosives” amongst a list of activities which are deemed tohave no potential for causing serious harm to the marine environment. Though the list appears tobe primarily influenced by US domestic legislation, 104 it may also reflect the emphasis in Art145(a) LOSC on activities more closely associated with the latter stages of exploration andbeyond.The discussion so far has focused on the legislative jurisdiction of the Authority. However, aState acting in the capacity of a flag State or sponsoring State has a power to apply environmentallaws and regulations that are more stringent than those established by the Authority. Thus AnnexIII LOSC Art 21(3) states that:99 Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Nodules in the Area, approved by theAssembly of the International Seabed Authority on 13 July 2000 (annexed to document ISBA/6/A/18);available at: http://www.isa.org.jm/ (last visited 25.02.03).100 Recommendations for the guidance of the contractors for the assessment of the possible environmentalimpacts arising from exploration for polymetallic nodules in the Area (published as ISBA/7/LTC/1/Rev.1*and Corr.1); available at: http://www.isa.org.jm/ (last visited 25.02.03).101 See Part II of the Regulations.102 See: Art 160(2)(f)(ii) LOSC; 162(2)(o)(ii) LOSC; Annex III LOSC.103 The activities constituting prospecting must, however, be considered in context. Many of theseactivities may equally fall within “marine scientific research” (“MSR”), covered mainly by Part XIII of theLOSC. The Authority has no express control over MSR. As such, an entity conducting such activities mayinstead opt to describe its work as “MSR” rather than as “prospecting”, and hence evade any regulationsimposed by the Authority.104 United States Deep Seabed Mining Regulations for Exploration Licences (15 CFR Part 970), s. 701;available at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-retrieve.html#page1 (last visited 25.02.03).114
Page 2:
Oceans of Noise 2004A WDCS Science
Page 8 and 9:
In the US, the deployment of Low Fr
Page 10 and 11:
its propagation beyond those declar
Page 12 and 13:
The best evidence for noise being f
Page 14 and 15:
Box 1. Characteristics of sound / l
Page 16 and 17:
Sound speed (c)The speed (c) of a w
Page 18 and 19:
Box 2. The effects of temperature,
Page 20 and 21:
2.1.2. Measuring sound intensityIde
Page 22 and 23:
i.e. Equal pressure measurements di
Page 24 and 25:
Spherical or Geometrical spreading
Page 28 and 29:
5.0 145Tug pulling loaded barge 1.0
Page 30 and 31:
The source used during 3-D surveys
Page 32 and 33:
Machinery noisePropulsion machinery
Page 34 and 35:
Man-made islands /caissonsFixed pla
Page 36 and 37:
12 3245Drill bit6Figure 3.4. Sound
Page 38 and 39:
Transientnoise sourcesAircraftHelic
Page 40 and 41:
Results from the aerial surveys con
Page 42 and 43:
haemorrhaging in the inner ears and
Page 44 and 45:
However they also noted that whales
Page 46 and 47:
4. The Use of Sound by CetaceansChr
Page 48 and 49:
seems logical, therefore, that if t
Page 50 and 51:
However, despite the reported low a
Page 52 and 53:
Kamminga and Wiersma 1981;Akamatsu
Page 54 and 55:
SongSocial callsShrieksSlaps0.03-80
Page 56 and 57:
anthropogenic factors that make the
Page 58 and 59:
5.3 Longer-term impactsNoise is cle
Page 60 and 61:
5.4 Indirect impactsThe above impac
Page 62 and 63:
decompression sickness (DCS) as see
Page 64 and 65: 6. Examples of regional and nationa
Page 66 and 67: 6.3 ASCOBANS and ACCOBAMSTwo region
Page 68 and 69: implications and the discussion sho
Page 70 and 71: 7.1. Consideration of Voluntary vs.
Page 72 and 73: acoustic measurements have been mad
Page 74 and 75: 7.6. Methods of protectionComplianc
Page 76 and 77: 7.6.1 Monitoring7.6.1.1 Visual, aco
Page 78 and 79: Delory et al. (2002) use Ambient No
Page 80 and 81: 8. ReferencesAburto, A., Rountry, D
Page 82 and 83: Caldwell, M.C., Caldwell, D.K., and
Page 84 and 85: Engas, A., Lokkeborg, S., Ona, E. a
Page 86 and 87: IWC 2002b. Report of the Scientific
Page 88 and 89: McCauley, R.D. 1994. Seismic Survey
Page 90 and 91: Potter, J. and Delory, E. 2001. Noi
Page 92 and 93: Smolker, R.A., Mann, J. and Smuts,
Page 94 and 95: Watkins, W.A. 1981b. The activities
Page 96 and 97: ANNEX 1The Application of Marine Po
Page 98 and 99: an important factor. 13 The judgeme
Page 100 and 101: in the preparatory work of the LOSC
Page 102 and 103: practice by the UNEP Governing Coun
Page 104 and 105: protection and preservation of the
Page 106 and 107: than international rules, standards
Page 108 and 109: Four of the twelve regional seas tr
Page 110 and 111: seismic operations in the Protocol
Page 112 and 113: ConclusionAt the global level, only
Page 116 and 117: No State Party may impose condition
Page 118 and 119: coastal States”. This formulation
Page 120 and 121: If the IMO makes this determination
Page 122 and 123: estrictions to vessels operating in
Page 124 and 125: In the EEZ, in comparison to the te
Page 126 and 127: Appendix A - Some international ins
Page 128 and 129: Convention for the Protection of th
Page 130 and 131: Available at:http://www.unep.ch/sea
Page 132 and 133: BucharestConventionArticle XIPollut
Page 134 and 135: environment1. The Contracting Parti
Page 136 and 137: - that under Article III.8.c) of AC
Page 138 and 139: e) no sudden or repeated change in
Page 140 and 141: Ref: Nowacek et al. 2001.Location:
Page 142 and 143: Location: Arctic• Vocal behaviour
Page 144 and 145: • Vaquita surfacing duration and
Page 146 and 147: • 6% of small delphinids (n=264;
Page 148 and 149: Species type: Boto, Inia geoffrensi
Page 150 and 151: • Humpback whales appeared tolera
Page 152 and 153: • Behaviour interpreted as aggres
Page 154 and 155: • There was no evidence of minke
Page 156 and 157: • Northern right whales may be ap
Page 158 and 159: • Migrating gray whales disturbed
Page 160 and 161: to Ensenada De La Paz, Mexico. Aqua
Page 162 and 163: distribution of humpback whales, Me
Page 164 and 165:
Richardson, C.R. Greene, C.I. Malme
Page 166 and 167:
Zhou, K., Pilleri, G. and Li, Y. 19
Page 168 and 169:
6. surveys for Cuvier’s beaked wh
show all

Oceans of noise - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?