“…good reasons to pay close attention to expansion of shipping lanes into currently (relatively) pristine parts of the ocean, where it is possible we could maintain some semblance of a natural acoustic habitat. It appears (to summarize severely) that most fish and whales avoid large tankers to some degree, but that ship traffic does not drive animals away from habitats….”

We lost most of our U.S. flagged shipping companies when they were forced to become foreign flagged – very few U.S. flagged container ships out there.

Based on unsafe procedure I’ve seen some of the foreign flag ships do, I wonder if concern of our whales will register and cause them to change ship at sea practice?

Thanks for taking the time to explain and elaborate.
Sharon O’Hara

Sharon, you are absolutely right that the Navy is taking disproportionate heat on this issue. Most marine bioacousticians agree that chronic exposure to moderate noise is likely causing far more “biologically significant” impacts on marine life than occasional impacts by sonar. And indeed, there are moves afoot to encourage the international shipping fleet to adopt various ship-quieting technologies. Uncharacteristically for the current administration, the US is taking a lead role in introducing such efforts within the IMO (International Maritime Organization). Related are new studies of “sound budgets” in Marine Protected Areas, lead by a program in the Stellwagen Bank off Boston. In the long run, there are good reasons to pay close attention to expansion of shipping lanes into currently (relatively) pristine parts of the ocean, where it is possible we could maintain some semblance of a natural acoustic habitat. It appears (to summarize severely) that most fish and whales avoid large tankers to some degree, but that ship traffic does not drive animals away from habitats. Likely there are repeated behavioral disruptions, but perhaps not enough to cause long-term population declines. More troublesome is the possibility of long-term hearing loss in the frequency ranges of ships (making whales more susceptible to being struck–Michel Andre in the Canary Islands has seen some evidence of such hearing loss among sperm whales struck by ships)–and, likely the most important, a dramatic shrinkage of the effective range of communication by great whales as the background ambient sound in the oceans rises.

Should we halt all ships at sea…containers…the awful noise from speed boats and loud giggles from kids learning to water ski?

No?

Only our national defense submarine fleet is held accountable for the animal’s right to peace……the other noisy ships are acceptable.

What about submarines from other countries? They’re out training and prowling the seas with impunity…only the United States Submarine Fleet is held down and regulated.
Strange. Sharon O’Hara