Salish Sea getting louder not conducive to South Resident killer whale recovery, WWF says
There’sa lot of racketbelow the Salish Sea’s surface and those noise levels are setto get louderas marine traffic increases along B.C.'s busy south coast –thanks to the new Lower Mainland developments such as the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion's completion.
It's been well documented that human-made ocean noise masks the ability for echolocation-reliant whales and dolphins to communicate. A lead marine conservation specialist with World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF) confirms that current oceannoise levels from human activities on the water –like industrial operations,travel and shipping – can hinder marine species' ability to find food, avoid danger or navigate their surroundings.
“It’s like an acoustic smog that clouds their ability to sense their environment,” said Hussein Alidina.
Alidina said scientists are now learning more about how the noisealso impacts fish and invertebrate species. Increasing noise also becomesanotherchallenge for endangered Southern Resident killer whales, which already face cumulativethreats from food scarcity and environmental contaminants, the conservationist added.
As Canada formulates a plan to safeguard marine ecosystems from what it calls the "complex threat" of ocean noise, World Wildlife Fund is concerned those proposedefforts lack tangible noise-reducing actions, along with timelines showing when those will come into effect.
The federal government unveiledits draft Ocean Noise Strategy at the end of August, which is currentlyundergoing a 60-day consultation period that will inform a final strategyset to be released next year.The feds say the planwillguide efforts to mitigate the impacts of ocean noise through science, innovation, management and communication.
"The Government of Canada is committed to protecting our oceans and the diverse life they contain,"Federal Fisheries and Oceans MinisterDiane Lebouthillier said in an Aug. 23 news release."The development of Canada’s Ocean Noise Strategy is a critical step to safeguarding the diverse species that call our oceans home."
The draft plan includes 20 recommendations split up acrossthree themes, the first of which largely deals with bolstering Canada's understanding of ocean noise and its impacts.
The first theme's recommendationsincludesupporting technology that reduces noise at its source. On that topic, the fedspoint to new technology, vessel designs, retrofits and operational practices being tested through their Quiet Vessel Initiative, which aims to address the impact of noise on vulnerable marine mammals –notably Southern Resident killer whales.
Alidina said the technology incentives in the draft plancome upshort and it should've included mandates for ships to be designed in way that makes them quieter.He said those kind of regulations have been shown to spur results and, as an example, pointed to how government-imposed requirementsquelled harmful pollutants fromvehicle tailpipe emissions decades ago.
Otherrecommendations in the draft strategy relate to: assessing noise risks of marine activities and projects; increasing coordination between stakeholders; enhancing compliance of mandatory noise regulations; working with the international community to protect marine species; and creating a Canadian framework that defines the ocean noise management responsibilities of differentfederal departments.
As the federal government looks to learn more about the commotion below the sea's surface, new research shows the noise from boats and vessels is disrupting killer whales' ability to find and capture food.A study published in September in Global Change Biology, a scientific journal, looked at the impacts of ocean noise on Northern and Southern Resident killer whales in B.C. and Washington state waters. As noise levels increased, the study found the fish-eating whales' foraging success decreased.
"These results reveal that vessel noise reduces foraging opportunities and that the likelihood of interference with foraging success scales positively with noise level," the study's authors wrote.
The killer whales spent more time searching for food in noisierconditions, which reduced foraging efficiency, the study found. It also found some variation across the sexes, such asfemales forgoing the pursuit ofprey as noise levels increased, but both males and females faced reduced odds of catching their meal the louder it got.
The researchers said their findings underscore the importance of managing soundscapes to achieve marine conservation goals.
WWF'sAlidina said Canada needs a coordinated approach to deal with underwater noise, so the federal strategy is an important piece. However, his organization said thedraft version lacks clarity aroundenforcingnoise limits and implementing regulations.
“We do need some additional regulation around water noise to treat it as a pollutant, but we aren’t doing that right now and it’s not clear from the strategy when that’s going to happen and how it’s going to happen,” he said.
Abuzz withshipping traffic, ferries and lots ofboats big and smallout on the water, WWF highlighted thatB.C.'s south coast is an excessively loud aquatic area in Canada.That area also hosts critical habitat for endangered killer whales.
“It’s already difficult for Southern Residents to find food under these conditions,”Alidina said as hecalled the orcas an indicator species that will hint athow other marine life may beimpacted by underwater noise.
He commended existinginitiativessuch asthe Port of Vancouver's ECHO program, whichsees ships voluntarilyslow downin keySouthern Resident foraging and breeding grounds. But Alidina said those seasonal slowdowns only reduce decibels byabout a third of what's needed. His organization wants the feds to establish noise limits on harmfully loud marine activities and set reduction targets for especially noisy ocean areas such asthe Salish Sea.
“This is the place where we need to see noise limits and have noise targets come into effect to move it back to a place that is healthy and conducive to recovery, and for wildlife to thrive,” he said.