Word The Cat

the oceans are noisy – the world`s commercial shipping fleet has doubled in size since 1965. the acoustic range of whales has decreased by 9 tenths. mass dolphin suicides abound. intense industrial sounds splinter through marine mammals` primary sense. at source propeller driven ships emit continuous noise of 150-195 decibels (dB). at a distance of 6 feet a pneumatic drill is 95dB. sound travels further and takes longer to degrade in water than in air. global capitalism requires sea-freight – more than 90 percent of global commerce depends on it.

undersea seismic surveys for oil and gas exploration are conducted by firing high velocity airguns which produce 259dB sounds at source and are fired every 10 seconds for weeks or months at a time. military sonar routinely produces sound fields of 235dB while commercial fishing produces fields of 210dB. dolphins wash up on shore by the dozen with blood haemorrhaging from their ears after military sonar exercises.

as noise becomes more widespread marine animals are being forced from their breeding areas. there is evidence some are being driven deaf – no longer able to negoitate a space defined by sound, not sight.

the 1982 UN convention on the law of the sea requires states to “prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from any source”. however despite this principle being established under international law, it can only be established by individual states so long as they do not interfere with uses other states make of the sea (e.g. navigational rights). The IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) and other organisations have taken the US navy to court over the use of military sonar, winning an injunction in February 2008 against the use of low frequency active sonar in various areas of critical habitat around the world. at the time of writing the Bush Administration is attempting to overturn protection for marine animals from mid frequency active sonar (a ruling made in a California federal court in January 2008). a decision is pending from the US supreme court on whether the case will be opened to review. In Europe the EU Marine Strategy Directive (adopted in May 2008) now recognises noise as a form of pollution subject to the same levels of regulation as other (chemical) pollutants.

full IFAW report here [pdf]