The rising tide of noise pollution in our oceans is not a mere background hum; it’s a deafening roar that threatens the very fabric of marine life. As industrial and military activities escalate, the cacophony of shipping traffic is growing by about three decibels each decade, effectively doubling the sound intensity in our seas. This shift reshapes the underwater environment for creatures like whales and dolphins, who rely heavily on sound for navigation, mating, feeding, and communication. Lindy Weilgart, a senior ocean policy consultant for OceanCare and adjunct professor at Dalhousie University, paints a grim picture: “Every time … background noise is louder, then whales’ communication range is shrunk by an exponential component, so what used to be maybe half the ocean that they could hear over…has now shrunk to a pinprick.”
The implications of this noise pollution extend far beyond just whales. As Weilgart notes, “This is a cross-species effect as well as a wide-ranging effect, because sound can travel thousands of kilometres underwater.” With blue whales, the loudest animals in the ocean, found year-round off Nova Scotia, the urgency to address this issue is palpable. Yet, the shipping industry has largely overlooked this problem. Paul Hines, chief technical officer at Rising Tide BioAcoustics, points out that the two most expensive aspects of shipbuilding are speed and noise reduction. “They don’t work as hard as we might like on making it quiet,” he says.
Emerging startups in Atlantic Canada are stepping up to tackle this maritime challenge head-on. Rising Tide BioAcoustics is pioneering a noise-cancelling system akin to the technology found in noise-cancelling headphones. Their innovation hinges on recent advances that allow for smaller, yet powerful, low-frequency projectors. This system can reduce ship noise by an impressive 30 decibels during tests, a staggering factor of 1,000 in sound intensity reduction. Hines emphasizes the importance of targeting those low-frequency sounds, which are particularly detrimental to marine life.
Simultaneously, SeafarerAI is leveraging artificial intelligence to tackle the challenge of measuring underwater noise levels in ports. CEO Ian Wilms highlights the current lack of technology in most ports, stating, “There’s basically zero technology under the water being used.” By deploying hydrophones and algorithms, they aim to identify sound sources and enable proactive measures to reduce disturbances to marine life.
Meanwhile, GIT Coatings is developing hull coatings that not only reduce drag and emissions but also mitigate noise. CEO Mo AlGermozi believes that if the industry can focus on reducing noise with the same vigor as it has on cutting CO2 emissions, significant progress can be made.
The Canadian government is also getting in the game, with its draft ocean noise strategy set to feed into a Federal Action Plan on ocean noise expected in 2025. Weilgart asserts that shipping noise is uniquely addressable compared to other pollution sources, as it can dissipate once the noise source is removed. “Shipping is in many ways the easiest fix,” she claims, pointing to a growing momentum in Canada to tackle this issue.
As these innovations unfold, they not only promise to lessen the impact of noise on marine life but also highlight a broader shift in the maritime industry towards sustainable practices. The stakes are high, and the ocean’s future hinges on our ability to listen—to both the sounds of the sea and the calls for action from the very creatures that inhabit it.
