Cetacean Acoustic Disturbance and Welfare

Underwater noise from shipping, sonar and industry causes significant welfare harm to cetaceans that depend on sound for navigation, feeding and communication.

Key Facts

Cetaceans use sound for communication, echolocation, prey detection and navigation over vast distances
Background ocean noise from shipping has increased by approximately 15 decibels over the past century
Military sonar has been linked to mass strandings of beaked whales that strand in apparent panic responses
Seismic surveys use airguns that produce the loudest man-made underwater sounds, audible hundreds of kilometres away
Blue whale communication calls are detectable thousands of kilometres away - noise reduces this effective range
Chronic noise exposure causes measurable behavioural changes including altered diving, feeding and communication
The IMO has developed voluntary guidelines for reducing shipping noise but adoption is limited

Welfare Considerations

Cetacean acoustic welfare harms range from acute trauma from military sonar to chronic disruption of foraging efficiency from shipping noise. The welfare harm is partially invisible to humans - we cannot hear the noise levels cetaceans experience or the communication interference they cause. Beaked whale strandings following sonar exercises represent the most dramatic acute welfare impacts. Chronic shipping noise reducing the effective range of blue whale communication by 90% is a significant population-level welfare harm over decades. The welfare case for quieter ships and shipping route management in critical cetacean habitats requires sustained advocacy given the economic interests resisting these changes.

What You Can Do

Support IMO mandatory shipping noise reduction standards through advocacy
Campaign for military sonar restrictions in critical cetacean habitats
Support marine protected areas with shipping speed restrictions that reduce noise levels
Advocate for seismic survey welfare protocols including real-time whale monitoring and power ramp-up
Donate to Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society campaigns on ocean noise pollution