From the incredible display of whale activity off our coastline this year it’s clear the humpback
whale population is recovering. However, individual humpbacks still face threats and one threat we don’t hear a lot about is acoustic pollution.
Noise pollution is having a significant impact on marine mammals and other marine life and
Australia is being called upon to review its laws as far as they relate to noise pollution to address
this issue.
Noise pollution has increased over the last 50 years with increased ship traffic, oil and gas exploration, scientific research activities, and the use of military sonar and communications equipment.
Michael Jasny from the US Natural Resources Defence Council told Radio National’s Law Report earlier this year that effects from this noise activity
on whales can range from ‘…disruptions in feeding and breeding, to habitat abandonment, to temporary and even permanent loss of hearing, to injury and death. There’s been a long record
of beachings and other mortalities of whales connected to use of naval sonar. There has been a few incidents of mass whale beachings associated with seismic exploration as well’.
Michael Jasny says environmental laws have been slow to catch up with this new conservation threat.
In Australia the issue is currently regulated by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. The Australian Navy also has certain protocols around avoiding important habitat for marine mammals when training with
sonar. However, both appear to be outdated and are in need of review in light of the latest scientific research.
Internationally, the United States has laws that are being applied to compel the navy to curb seismic exploration in some regions, in 2008 the European Union adopted legislation known as the ‘Marine Strategy Framework Directive’ which recognises that noise is a marine stressor and there are a number of ports in North America that are developing monitoring and incentive systems to get shipping lines to reduce their noise.
Australia became a world leader in the protection and conservation of whales since the end of Australia’s whaling industry in 1978. It is important our laws are now adapted to recognise new emerging threats.