Canada steers global push to quell ocean noise pollution at UN summit

National Observer

a day ago

Canada is launching an international effort to tackle the swell of ocean noise pollution harming marine life across the globe — sparking hope among conservation groups for quieter Canadian waters.
At the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, delegates from Canada and Panama partnered this week to launch the high-ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean, the first global declaration devoted solely to reducing human-caused ocean noise.
The voluntary declaration, with 35 other nations on board, suggests turning down the volume underwater by reducing noise in marine-protected areas (MPAs), sharing data and building global knowledge, protecting vulnerable ocean life and pushing for quieter ships through new rules at the International Maritime Organization.
'The declaration sends a really important message that a quiet ocean is important, and it shows [a global] intention we want to move forward on addressing it,' said Susanna Fuller, vice president of conservation projects at Oceans North.
But Canada will have to follow up its international rhetoric with concrete action at home, she added.
Canada is ahead of some countries with existing tools — such as the Oceans Protection Plan and minimum protection standards for marine protected areas — that it can build on to curb noise pollution in a timely way. It should take the next step by setting noise thresholds in marine protected areas, Fuller said.
'We have the existing tools and I think it's an exciting opportunity for Canada in particular, because we know in the Arctic we have to start dealing with ocean noise, before shipping increases exponentially.'
The federal government is heading an international coalition to protect marine life from rising underwater noise, but domestic action lags behind.
Until now, Arctic waters have benefited from low levels of shipping traffic and industrial activity.
However, global warming is occurring four times faster than the global average in the Canadian Arctic, causing the rapid retreat of sea ice. This means shipping traffic is on the rise and activities like deep-sea mining could move in to disrupt and harm marine life, like the narwhals and belugas that Inuit communities rely on for their food and culture.
Ocean noise pollution — mostly from commercial shipping — is now widespread, intensifying and largely unregulated. Sound travels in salt water more than quadruple the speed it does in air, reaching vast distances and disturbing a range of marine animals, like shrimp, fish, seals and whales. It disrupts their ability to communicate with each other, hunt for food, find mates and avoid predators.
Ocean noise requires ambitious global cooperation, Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement.
'Through this coalition, we are demonstrating Canada's commitment to international leadership on ocean conservation and inviting our partners to join us in restoring a quieter, healthier ocean for future generations — while supporting sustainable economic activity.'
Beatrice Frank, conservation scientist and executive director of the Georgia Strait Alliance, echoed support for an international commitment to reduce noise. But she hopes it also signals new ambition by Canada to produce a more robust ocean noise strategy, expected to be finalized this year.
When the federal government rolled out the draft strategy last summer, scientists and marine conservation groups panned the blueprint as lacking substance or detailed measures to reduce underwater noise pollution.
Even staff at Fisheries and Oceans Canada worried it lacked substance. One email obtained by Canada's National Observer observed that 'there is only one actual noise management or reduction measure within the entire strategy,' and questioned whether it should be called a 'strategy' at all.
'While having an ocean noise strategy is positive, we didn't see the strength of the framework and how it can really result in changes on the ground,' Frank said.
There need to be measures such as no-go or low-noise zones for vessels in key habitats for at-risk species such as southern resident killer whales and noise thresholds in heavily trafficked areas like the Salish Sea, she said.
Despite a longstanding push by marine conservation groups on the West Coast, the federal government's recent seasonal protection measures for southern resident killer whales didn't align with US regulations that prohibit recreational or whale-watching vessels, Frank said.
To better protect the endangered whales, the federal government and the Port of Vancouver instigated a mix of voluntary and mandatory guidelines , which include seasonal vessel slow-down zones and sanctuary areas for the whales along with some fishing area closures for the past seven years.
The measures have resulted in some limited noise reductions, but the cumulative effects of increasing activity in the region — like the spike in oil tanker traffic following the completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and an expected surge of shipping activity if the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion project gets approved — aren't being addressed, Frank said.
'I'm hoping this new commitment from Canada isn't just [a reach for] low-hanging fruit, but that it's a way to make the strategy a leading document that brings changes to underwater noise levels.'