Effect of Vessel Noise on Marine Mammals and Measures to Reduce Impact

Underwater radiated noise from shipping is the most widespread and pervasive human noise in marine ecosystems. Mounting evidence indicates that this noise source can cause changes to the behavior and physiology of marine mammals, and that cumulative exposures can have detrimental effects on their fitness and survival. Concern for the impacts of shipping noise to marine species has led regulators to propose measures to reduce underwater radiated noise from shipping either through reductions in vessel source levels via technological modifications and operational slowdowns, or through measures to reroute vessels away from important marine habitats. In this overview, we provide a brief discussion of the potential impacts of vessel noise to marine mammals as a group of particular concern, and conclude that technological, operational, and routing measures can be used by the shipping industry independently or synergistically to reduce both global cumulative noise levels from commercial vessels, and potential impacts to marine mammals.