Vessel Noise Pollution in Fish Habitats in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Vessel noise is expected to occur at sites with human activity, such as areas near boat channels, harbors and marinas, and petroleum exploration platforms. How noise varies among sites and how such variation may impact associated fish communities are not well-known. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) was used to examine spatial, diel, and longer temporal variation in vessel noise occurrence among five coastal sites in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Dramatically higher vessel noise occurrence was observed at some sites. Noise-related impacts on fishes are likely influenced by differences in species composition among sites, times of peak sound production among species, and bathymetry at sites that impacts propagation of lower-frequency vessel noise.