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Engagement on the science-based whale review

Engagement on the science-based whale review: A summary of what was heard, March 2018

Engagement on the science-based whale review: A summary of what was heard, March 2018 (PDF, 1.28 MB)

A summary of what was heard
March 2018

Engagement on the Science-based Whale Review
A Summary of What was Heard

Prepared by the consortium of Nielsen, Delaney + Associates, PubliVate.
Contract #: FP918-17-0001

Ce document est également disponible en français.

Table of Contents

7. Acoustic Disturbance and Vessel Presence

All whales vocalize and some whales echolocate to communicate and socialize with each other, find food and navigate.

Noise generated by human activities, whether chronic (e.g. shipping noise, ferry operations, whale-watching etc.) or acute (e.g. pile driving, blasting, seismic surveys, military sonar etc.), can interfere with the ability of whales to conduct these essential life processes. The presence of vessels can also affect the behaviour of whales, for example, by causing them to turn their attention away from activities like foraging, feeding, socializing and breeding to avoid the vessel.

Because different types of whales hear and vocalize at different frequencies, underwater noise affects different types of whales in different ways. For example, baleen whales such as the North Atlantic Right Whale hear and vocalize at different frequencies than toothed whales such as the Southern Resident Killer Whale and the St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga. It is estimated that ambient (background) underwater noise levels have increased an average of 15 dB in the past 50 years throughout the world's oceans Footnote 28 (a 3dB increase represents a doubling of noise levels).

7.1 Summary of Key Themes

Indigenous groups, governments and other stakeholders provided feedback on the threat of acoustic disturbance for all three endangered whale populations: the North Atlantic Right Whale, the St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga and the Southern Resident Killer Whale. Comments related to the threat of vessel presence were provided for the Southern Resident Killer Whale and the St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga.

Participants noted that the issue of underwater noise is not as straightforward as removing vessels or reducing vessel speed; for example:

Feedback on specific priority management actions for this threat should be read with this context in mind. Many of the priority management actions are region-specific; however, the following comments consistently emerged for all three endangered whale populations with respect to acoustic disturbance.

Reduce vessel traffic in key areas or implement new vessel-specific regulations, guidelines or incentive programs to decrease acoustic disturbance.

Suggestions included:

Industry/business stakeholders stressed the importance of taking actions that balance economic activities with the protection of marine mammals and their habitat.

Increase the minimum distance between the three endangered whale populations (individuals or groups) and pleasure crafts and whale-watching vessels.

Few whale-watching industry representatives were present at the in person/webinar meetings focused on acoustic disturbance due to it being 'high season' for their work. A written submission from tourism industry provided some supplemental feedback from the whale-watching industry.

Suggestions included:

Identify and create acoustic refuge areas within foraging and other key areas of habitat of the endangered whale populations.

Suggestions included:

In addition to the concept of acoustic refuge areas, there was support from some participants for the creation of a network of Marine Protected Areas (see Figure 6).

Figure 6. Specific Feedback on Marine Protected Areas

Many participants felt that the creation of Marine Protected Areas could greatly enhance the recovery of all three endangered whale populations. Protected areas can include nursery habitat, migratory corridors, feeding areas, as well as the habitats of whale prey.

Marine Protected Areas are intended to manage all human activities within the area and to address all of the threats at the same time, giving whales a safe and quiet place to live, e.g., protecting whales and their prey from contaminants, providing refuge from threats of underwater noise, vessel strikes, and harmful impacts of a range of activities (entanglements from fishing gear, whale watching vessels and pleasure crafts, oil and gas activities).

Suggestions included:

7.2 What Indigenous Groups Said

Suggestions from Indigenous participants included:

7.3 What Governments and Other Stakeholders Said

North Atlantic Right Whale

Remove vessels and/or restrict fishing activities in critical habitats or high use areas to decrease the level of noise and the threat of acoustic disturbance.Footnote 30

For the North Atlantic Right Whale, removal of vessels and restrictions on fishing activities are identified priority management actions to reduce the threat of entanglements and vessel strikes (see Section 6 and 8). These actions would also decrease the level of vessel noise in proposed areas.

While it is generally agreed that noise can be harmful, participants discussed the limited scientific evidence on the impact of underwater noise on North Atlantic Right Whales. There is a study which showed a decrease of stress hormones in North Atlantic Right Whales in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks when aerial/vessel traffic was stopped.Footnote 31 In general, baseline noise levels and acceptable levels are not well understood. It is not yet known to what extent removing noise completely from specific areas will make a difference for North Atlantic Right Whale population recovery.

Participants held differing views on whether:

Suggestions included:

St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga

For the St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga, the Phase 1 science assessment report identified a number of specific priority management actions to reduce acoustic disturbance generated by human activity. The discussion focused on actions concerning safe approach distances to whales, modifying vessel routes, and creating acoustic refuges.

Suggestions included:

Southern Resident Killer Whale

For the Southern Resident Killer Whale, the Phase 1 science assessment report identified a number of specific priority management actions to reduce the threat of acoustic disturbance.

Implement area-specific vessel regulations, guidelines or incentive programs to reduce the overall acoustic impact on Southern Resident Killer Whales in or near their habitat, particularly in the Salish Sea.

Participants considered implementing area-specific vessel regulations and/or guidelines that reduce noise in the Salish Sea to be a long-term undertaking.

Suggestions included:

Establish a Canada-US transboundary committee aimed at reducing shipping noise in the Salish Sea.

Participants at the multi-stakeholder meeting identified establishing a transboundary committee as a quick win but also viewed it more as a process recommendation rather than a direct action.

Suggestions included:

Other proposed actions

7.4 What the General Public Said

The Let's Talk Whales online portal included an open-ended question designed to ask for opinions on the actions identified by scientists in the Phase 1 science assessment to address the threat of underwater noise. There was a list of specific actions included in the question as examples:

Given the open-ended approach a wide range of responses were received. Nonetheless, two-thirds of all responses directly addressed the list of actions.

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