NICE, France—Oceans North is celebrating the launch today of the High-Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean at the 3^rd UN Ocean Conference. The initiative, co-led by Canada and Panama, calls on countries to find solutions to the growing problem of ocean noise, which is affecting marine species around the world as industrial activity and shipping increase.

“Canada has the world’s longest coastline, thousands of migratory and resident whales, and coastal communities around the country that depend on healthy oceans,” says Dr. Kristin Westdal, Oceans North’s science director. “As a marine biologist who has spent many years tracking how underwater soundscapes are changing and how marine mammals are responding—especially in the Arctic—I’m grateful to see Canadian leadership on this issue, as well as so many other countries stepping up.”

Many animals in the ocean rely on sound to help feed, navigate, and reproduce, and noise can affect their behaviour in a number of ways. For example, narwhal use a variety of vocalizations that can be masked by the sound from ships that are increasingly present in the Arctic as sea ice declines and industries expand. “Narwhal communicate with whistles, clicks, and buzzing sounds,” Westdal explains, “and some of these calls overlap with frequencies generated by the ships.” The result is that narwhal may start avoiding certain areas, which is a problem not only for the whales but also for the communities that harvest them.

Understanding and tracking these kinds of changes has been a focus of Oceans North’s work for many years, and at this year’s conference, the organization announced an ambitious program of future work to monitor ocean noise that can inform management measures as part of a voluntary commitment under the UN Sustainable Development Goals Partnership. “It’s particularly important to gather data now so that we have a baseline for what a healthy, quiet ocean sounds like,” Westdal says. “And the best way to do that is by listening to and working with the people who live here and have been monitoring their waters for generations.”

Beyond gauging existing impacts, the new Coalition brings together countries to work together on policies and technologies that can help mitigate underwater noise. These range from the development of quieter, emissions-free ships to the creation of noise thresholds for sensitive areas and species, as well as designated routes to help avoid them altogether.

“There are a number of new and existing tools to address this growing threat, and we look forward to working with Canada alongside Indigenous organizations and communities to implement them in Canadian waters and beyond,” says Westdal.

For more information, please contact:

Alex Tesar
Communications Director
Oceans North
[email protected]