Governing underwater noise from shipping in Antarctica: Current state of affairs and paths forward

Abstract

With the growth of shipping in the Southern Ocean, the marine environment becomes increasingly exposed to various adverse impacts, including underwater radiated noise (URN) from vessels. URN overlaps with the frequencies of sound used by many marine species for communication, foraging and navigation, and can harm them on the individual and population level. Although the international awareness of this problem is gaining momentum, scientific knowledge gaps complicate progress in addressing it in a holistic and coordinated manner. In the Antarctic context, limited discussions on URN have been conducted since the early 2000s, revealing significant insufficiency of scientific data on the levels of URN intensity and its impacts on various marine species observed in the region. So far, the Antarctic Treaty parties have not taken any regulatory action to address URN. At the same time, the growth in regional shipping suggests that some efforts could be appropriate in the near future. This article analyzes the current state of knowledge about URN from shipping, the relevant international regulatory framework, both within the Antarctic Treaty System and beyond, as well as potential mitigation approaches to address the impact of URN in Antarctica. The key finding is that effective mitigation will require the engagement of multiple stakeholders, including governments, ship owners and operators, seafarers, Antarctic gateway ports authorities and others.