Anthropogenic ocean noise from shipping, sonar, seismic surveys, and construction drowns out the biological soundscape that marine animals depend on for navigation, communication, and prey detection.
Chronic noise exposure causes measurable stress responses in cetaceans and fish — elevated stress hormones, disrupted feeding and communication, and displacement from habitat. Fish larvae use reef sound to navigate to settlement sites — noise disrupts this. The cumulative effect of a century of industrialisation of the oceans represents a chronic welfare burden on marine life at population scale.