Oceans of noise - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

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estrictions to vessels operating in a PSSA. [...]6.1.2 adoption of ships’ routeing and reporting systems near or in the area, under theInternational Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and in accordance with theGeneral Provisions on Ships’ Routeing and the Guidelines and Criteria for Ship ReportingSystems. For example, a PSSA may be designated as an area to be avoided or it may beprotected by other ships’ routeing or reporting systems;6.1.3 development and adoption of other measures aimed at protecting specific sea areasagainst environmental damage from ships, such as compulsory pilotage schemes or vesseltraffic management systems.Later the Guidelines state: 127(a) The application [by the proposing Member Government(s)] should identify the proposed[associated protective] measures which may include:(i) any measure that is already available in an existing instrument; or(ii) any measure that does not yet exist but that should be available as a generally applicablemeasure and that falls within the competence of IMO; or(iii) any measure proposed for adoption in the territorial sea or pursuant to Article 211(6) ofthe United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.(b) These measures may include ships’ routeing measures; discharge restrictions; operationalcriteria; and prohibited activities, and should be specifically tailored to meet the need of thearea at risk.In a PSSA established to manage ocean noise, the objective should clearly be to reduce oreliminate ocean noise from vessels. To reduce or eliminate ocean noise, options include, interalia, (a) setting speed restrictions, (b) prohibiting vessels or certain categories of vessel fromusing the area, (c) applying special restrictions on the “discharge” of noise (e.g. decibel limits),and (d) requiring the use of certain equipment (e.g. propeller nozzles). Of these, “(a)” is likely tobe the least problematic. With respect to “(b)”, the implied non-application of the IMO’s General127 Section 7.4.2.1.121
Provisions on Ships’ Routeing to operational pollution has already been mentioned. With respectto “(c)” and “(d)”, there are vessel design/construction implications. 128 However, it is alsounclear what is meant when the PSSA Guidelines (as cited above) refer to “any measure that doesnot yet exist but that should be available as a generally applicable measure and that falls withinthe competence of IMO” (emphasis added). 129ConclusionThere are currently no “generally accepted international rules and standards established throughthe competent international organization or general diplomatic conference” in respect of noisepollution from vessels. Such rules and standards could potentially be introduced by (a) extendingthe scope of Art 1(1) of MARPOL appropriately and then drafting a new annex on ocean noise or(b) drafting a new stand-alone treaty (as has been done with the 2001 International Convention onthe Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems on Ships). Of course, significant political willwould be necessary to bring about either of these multilateral options. Meanwhile, however, flagStates should still be encouraged to take unilateral action with regard to noise as a pollutant.The legislative power provided to coastal States under Art 211(4)-(6) LOSC is currently morepromising, and coastal States should be encouraged to make use of these powers in respect ofocean noise. In the territorial sea, the coastal State’s legislative powers are relatively strong onaccount of the sovereignty it enjoys in that zone. However, coastal States are nonethelessconstrained here by the current lack of generally accepted international rules and standards onvessel design, construction and equipment in respect of ocean noise. They may nonethelessundertake “the regulation of maritime traffic” (e.g. by establishing prohibitions on vesselmovements in acoustically-sensitive areas) to the extent that innocent passage is not hampered.Subject to the same constraint, they may take other measures to preserve their environment or toprevent, reduce and control pollution (e.g. placing restrictions on vessel speed through certainareas, in order to reduce noise pollution).128 Note though that para 3.8.3 in chapter 3 of the Annex to Resolution A.720(17) (albeit now superseded)states that “[o]ther measures which could be considered [in a PSSA] include special constructionrequirements ...”.129 See para 7.4.2.1(a)(ii). It is unclear who has the task of judging whether a measure “should beavailable”, and what criteria are to be used in reaching this judgment. Secondly, the term “generallyapplicable” is not used in the LOSC. In contrast, the terms “applicable” and “generally accepted” are usedin Part XII of the LOSC (notably in Art 211 and in Arts 213, 214, 216-220 & 222), and much has beenwritten on these terms.122
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Oceans of Noise 2004A WDCS Science
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In the US, the deployment of Low Fr
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its propagation beyond those declar
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The best evidence for noise being f
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Box 1. Characteristics of sound / l
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Sound speed (c)The speed (c) of a w
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Box 2. The effects of temperature,
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2.1.2. Measuring sound intensityIde
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i.e. Equal pressure measurements di
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Spherical or Geometrical spreading
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5.0 145Tug pulling loaded barge 1.0
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The source used during 3-D surveys
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Machinery noisePropulsion machinery
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Man-made islands /caissonsFixed pla
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12 3245Drill bit6Figure 3.4. Sound
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Transientnoise sourcesAircraftHelic
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Results from the aerial surveys con
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haemorrhaging in the inner ears and
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However they also noted that whales
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4. The Use of Sound by CetaceansChr
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seems logical, therefore, that if t
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However, despite the reported low a
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Kamminga and Wiersma 1981;Akamatsu
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SongSocial callsShrieksSlaps0.03-80
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anthropogenic factors that make the
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5.3 Longer-term impactsNoise is cle
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5.4 Indirect impactsThe above impac
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decompression sickness (DCS) as see
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6. Examples of regional and nationa
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6.3 ASCOBANS and ACCOBAMSTwo region
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implications and the discussion sho
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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 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 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
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Oceans of noise - Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

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