Committed to Ocean Quieting

Thank you for being engaged with the Global Alliance for Managing Ocean Noise (GAMeON). The GAMeON Sounding Board is thrilled to share the first edition of the GAMeON Newsletter, which will include upcoming events, recent publications, and opportunities to get involved.

The Quieting Workshop Series continues to foster collaborative conversations between strategically-invited, multi-sectoral attendees. In November 2022, GAMeON hosted its second quieting workshop on practical approaches to reduce ocean noise associated with seismic exploration and will be releasing the subsequent report soon. 

The third workshop will focus on three key topics around the theme of practical approaches for reducing ocean noise associated with shipping. In the interim before the IMO guidelines are released, we would like to provide information on the status of ocean noise associated with human activity in the ocean and opportunities to engage further. See below for upcoming events.

Upcoming Events

Webinar on the Impacts of Offshore Wind on Marine Mammals and Seabirds: Knowns and Unknowns May 17, 2023 at 1:00 pm EDT, hosted by the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation contact Dr. Brandon Southall at Brandon.Southall@sea-inc.net for more information, register now.

Oceanoise Conference, May 22-26 2023 in Vilanova i la Geltru, Barcelona, Spain, access more information.

Underwater Acoustics Conference and Exhibition June 23-30 2023 in Kalamata, Greece, access more information.

Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC) 80 July 3-7 2023, Location TBD, IMO is expected to adopt the revised IMO Strategy for Reduction of GHG Emissions from Ships revised during MEPC 79 in December 2022 

Green Marine Tech 12-14 June, Seattle, Washington, access more information.

GAMeON Quieting Workshop, Fall 2023 Date Coming Soon, Practical Approaches to Reduce Ocean Noise Associated with Marine Shipping, access more information.

Discovery of Sound in the Sea (DOSITS) Webinar Series, September 2023, Impacts of Shipping, Saturn Project, access more information.
 

Recent Publications

Merchant, D., Putland, R.L., André, M., Baudin, E., Felli, M., Slabbekoorn, H. Dekeling, R. (2022) A decade of underwater noise research in support of the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Ocean & Coastal Management, 228,106299, ISSN 0964-5691, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106299

Lajaunie, M., Ollivier, B., Ceyrac, L., Dellong, D., & Le Courtois, F. (2023). Large-Scale Simulation of a Shipping Speed Limitation Measure in the Western Mediterranean Sea: Effects on Underwater Noise. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 11(2), 251. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11020251

Lee, J. & Southall, B. (2022) Practical Approaches for reducing ocean noise associated with offshore renewable energy development, Report by the Global Alliance for Managing Ocean Noise, download here.

Sèbe, M., Scemama, P., Choquet, A., Jung, J. L., Chircop, A., Razouk, P. M. A., ... & Recuero-Virto, L. (2022). Maritime transportation: Let's slow down a bit. Science of the Total Environment, 811, 152262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152262

Southall B.L., Tollit, D., Amaral, J., Clark, C.W., and Ellison W.T. (2023). Managing human activity and marine mammals: A biologically based, relativistic risk assessment framework. Frontiers in Marine Science 10:1090132. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1090132
 

Policy Momentum

In the European Union, TG NOISE has adopted recommendations on maximum acceptable levels for impulsive and continuous underwater noise, under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The new limits mean, that to be in tolerable status, no more than 20% of a given marine area can be exposed to continuous underwater noise over a year, and no more than 20% of a marine habitat can be exposed to impulsive noise over a given day, and no more than 10% over a year.

In January 2023, a technical Sub-Committee of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) concluded revision of the 2014 Guidelines to reduce underwater shipping noise. The revised set of Guidelines, which again recognizes vessel speed reduction as an effective measure to reduce ocean noise emissions, had been subject to a revision process in part because the shipping industry was not putting them into practice. And while the revisions will likely be adopted at the next MEPC80 meeting, the voluntary nature of the Guidelines remains worrying because of a history of lack of action to implement voluntary measures.

Following NGOs advocacy work, STOLT-NIELSEN, the world’s largest operator in chemical tankers, decided in February to slow down vessel speeds by 20% from 12.5 to 10 knots in four regions: the north-west Mediterranean Sea, around Vancouver Island, on the east coast of the US, and off Dondra Head in Sri Lanka. The decision has been made to reduce the risk of colliding with endangered whales but STOLT Tankers also acknowledged it will reduce the emission of underwater noise.

MSC had also announced similar measures off Dondra Head in Sri Lanka in October 2022.
 

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