Wild Animals

Wild Marine Mammal Noise Pollution

Anthropogenic noise from shipping, sonar, and drilling disrupts marine mammal communication, navigation, and foraging with severe welfare consequences.

Key Facts

Shipping noise has doubled ocean ambient noise levels over 50 years
Naval sonar causes physical injury and behavioral disruption in cetaceans
Seismic surveys for oil and gas use among the loudest human-made sounds in the ocean
Noise pollution causes chronic stress measured through glucocorticoid levels in whales

Welfare Considerations

Marine mammals that rely on sound for every aspect of their lives — communication, prey detection, navigation, and social bonding — suffer profound welfare impacts when their acoustic environment becomes uninhabitable. Chronic noise exposure is not merely inconvenient but physiologically damaging.

What You Can Do

Support shipping industry slow-steaming and route adjustment programs to reduce noise
Advocate for buffer zones around marine mammal habitats during seismic operations
Donate to organizations monitoring acoustic impacts on whale populations
Engage with international maritime regulations to prioritize noise reduction standards