Oceans of noise - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

More documents

Recommendations

Info

No State Party may impose conditions on a contractor that are inconsistent with Part XI.However, the application by a State Party to contractors sponsored by it, or to ships flying itsflag, of environmental or other laws and regulations more stringent than those in the rules,regulations and procedures of the Authority adopted pursuant to article 17, paragraph 2(f), ofthis Annex shall not be deemed inconsistent with Part XI.Annex III LOSC Art 17(2)(f) relates to the Authority’s duty to “adopt ... rules, regulations andprocedures ... on ... mining standards and practices, including those relating to ... the protection ofthe marine environment”. 105 As such, it is not focused expressly on pollution. However, it isreasonable to assume that the principle of unilateral action established by Annex III LOSC Art21(3) applies by implication to rules, regulations and procedures of the Authority adopted toprevent, reduce and control pollution. Of note, the reference to “ships flying its flag” is broadenough to apply to prospectors.Art 215 LOSC relates to enforcement jurisdiction. It states that:Enforcement of international rules, regulations and procedures established in accordance withPart XI to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from activities inthe Area shall be governed by that Part.Under Part XI and Annex III, the Authority, State Parties and international organisations haveduties with regard to ensuring compliance. 106 The Authority is also provided with express powersin this regard. 107 Some such powers and duties have been elaborated on in the Regulations. 108 Itis not known whether the Authority has yet exercised its enforcement powers in relation toprospectors or contractors undertaking exploration.ConclusionThe legal framework provided by the LOSC appears broad enough to apply to noise pollutioncaused by activities in the Area. Furthermore, an international organisation (the International105 See Annex III LOSC Art 17(1).106 See: Arts 139 LOSC; Art 153(4) LOSC; and Annex III LOSC Art 4(4).107 See for example Art 153(5) LOSC.108 See for example: Reg 3(4)(d)(2); Reg 11(3)(f); Reg 29(4); and Regs, Annex 4, section 14.115
Seabed Authority) has been established with an express duty to adopt rules, regulations andprocedures for the prevention, reduction and control of pollution of the marine environment.Despite doubt over whether the term “activities in the Area” includes prospecting, the Authorityhas shown its readiness to regulate prospecting through the Regulations. Preliminary indicationsfrom the Recommendations, however, suggest that the Authority may not regard seismic surveys,at least those conducted without the use of explosives, to have potential for causing serious harmto the marine environment. It remains to be seen how the Authority will (a) regard other potentialsources of ocean noise from activities in the Area and (b) address such sources in view of itslegislative and enforcement jurisdiction. However, the Authority should meanwhile beencouraged to take the impact and regulation of ocean noise seriously. It should also beremembered that flag States and sponsoring States may apply environmental laws and regulationsthat are more stringent than those adopted by the Authority.3.3 Pollution from vesselsThis is addressed by Art 211 LOSC and by Art 217 LOSC et seq. Art 211 LOSC deals withstandard setting. Art 211(1) LOSC requires States “acting through the competent internationalorganization or general diplomatic conference” to “establish international rules and standards toprevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from vessels ...”. It is generallyacknowledged that the competent international organisation is the International MaritimeOrganization. 109 This duty has been implemented in respect of some forms of pollution. 110However, it has not yet been implemented in respect of ocean noise.Of note, Art 211(1) LOSC also requires States to “promote the adoption ... wherever appropriate,of routeing systems designed to minimize the threat of accidents which might cause pollution ofthe marine environment, including the coastline, and pollution damage to the related interests of109 See, for example: (a) S. Rosenne, A. Yankov & N.R. Grandy (eds.), United Nations Convention on theLaw of the Sea 1982: A Commentary vol IV (Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff, 1991), p 200 & 201; (b) R.R.Churchill & A.V. Lowe, The Law of the Sea, 3 rd edition, Melland Schill Studies in International Law(Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999), pp 346-347; and (c) E. Franckx (ed.), Vessel-sourcePollution and Coastal State Jurisdiction (The Hague: Kluwer, 2001), pp 19-20.110 Notably: (a) the forms of pollution covered by the annexes to MARPOL; and (b) organotinsused in anti-fouling systems (under the 2001 International Convention on the Control of HarmfulAnti-fouling Systems on Ships). Note too that a draft International Convention for the Controland Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments is currently under consideration by IMO.116
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 114 and 115: Art 209 LOSC focuses on both standa
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

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?