Report of the Ad-Hoc Group on the Impacts of Sonar on Cetaceans and Fish (AGISC) (2Nd Edition)
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ICES AGISC 2005 ICES Advisory Committee on Ecosystems ICES CM 2005/ACE:06 Report of the Ad-hoc Group on the Impacts of Sonar on Cetaceans and Fish (AGISC) (2nd edition) By correspondence International Council for the Exploration of the Sea Conseil International pour l’Exploration de la Mer H.C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46 DK-1553 Copenhagen V Denmark Telephone (+45) 33 38 67 00 Telefax (+45) 33 93 42 15 www.ices.dk [email protected] Recommended format for purposes of citation: ICES. 2005. Report of the Ad-hoc Group on Impacts of Sonar on Cetaceans and Fish (AGISC) CM 2006/ACE:06 25pp. For permission to reproduce material from this publication, please apply to the General Secretary. The document is a report of an Expert Group under the auspices of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and does not necessarily represent the views of the Council. © 2005 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea ICES AGISC report 2005, 2nd edition | i Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Participation........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Terms of Reference ............................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Justification of Terms of Reference....................................................................................... 1 1.4 Framework for response ........................................................................................................ 2 1.5 Overview by the chair............................................................................................................ 2 1.6 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... 3 2 Physical background ..................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 The nature of sound ............................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Units for measuring sound..................................................................................................... 4 2.2.1 Use of the decibel scale in water............................................................................... 4 2.3 Parameters for estimating noise............................................................................................. 4 2.3.1 Source level .............................................................................................................. 5 2.3.2 Impulsive sound........................................................................................................ 5 2.3.3 Sound propagation and transmission loss................................................................. 6 2.4 Ambient noise........................................................................................................................ 7 2.5 Sonar in general..................................................................................................................... 8 2.5.1 Low-frequency sonar................................................................................................ 8 2.5.2 Mid frequency sonar................................................................................................. 9 2.5.3 High frequency sonar................................................................................................ 9 3 Biological Background - Cetaceans............................................................................................ 10 3.1 Hearing in cetaceans............................................................................................................ 10 3.1.1 Anatomy and physiology........................................................................................ 10 3.1.2 Hearing in smaller odontocetes............................................................................... 11 3.1.3 Hearing in mysticetes ............................................................................................. 12 3.2 Potential effects of sound on cetaceans ............................................................................... 12 3.2.1 Direct damage to hearing........................................................................................ 12 3.2.2 Non-auditory tissue damage ................................................................................... 13 3.2.3 Masking and changes in vocal behaviour ............................................................... 15 3.2.4 Behavioural reactions ............................................................................................. 16 4 Cetaceans and sonar.................................................................................................................... 17 4.1 Marine mammals ................................................................................................................. 17 4.2 Beaked whales..................................................................................................................... 17 4.2.1 Review of literature on effects of sonar on beaked whales..................................... 20 4.2.2 Case study: Greece ................................................................................................. 22 4.2.3 Case study: Bahamas .............................................................................................. 25 4.2.4 Case study: Canary Islands..................................................................................... 27 4.3 Other cetaceans and sonar ................................................................................................... 28 4.3.1 Research on LFA and cetaceans ............................................................................. 28 5 Mitigation measures for cetaceans ............................................................................................. 29 5.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 29 5.2 Control at source.................................................................................................................. 30 5.3 Mitigation of death and injury caused by the direct effects of sound .................................. 30 5.3.1 Marine Mammal Observers (MMOs) ..................................................................... 31 ii | 5.3.2 Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) or Active Acoustic Monitoring (AAM) .................................................................................................................... 31 5.4 Other control methods ......................................................................................................... 31 5.4.1 Scheduling .............................................................................................................. 31 5.4.2 Warning signals ...................................................................................................... 32 5.5 Monitoring........................................................................................................................... 32 5.5.1 Noise monitoring .................................................................................................... 32 5.5.2 Marine mammal observation .................................................................................. 32 5.6 Mitigation measures in use for military sonars with regard to marine mammals ................ 33 5.6.1 Guidelines for sonar research testing by NATO and marine mammal risk mitigation research at the NATO Undersea Research Centre.......................... 33 5.6.2 Mitigation on UK naval vessels or in UK sonar tests ............................................. 33 5.6.3 Mitigation on Australian naval vessels................................................................... 35 5.6.4 Mitigation on Italian naval vessels ......................................................................... 35 5.6.5 Mitigation on US naval vessels during training and during exercises .................... 36 5.6.6 Future mitigation development............................................................................... 36 6 Summary of gaps in understanding for marine mammals....................................................... 36 7 Other relevant items.................................................................................................................... 37 7.1 Noise pollution as a more serious problem?........................................................................ 37 8 General conclusion for marine mammals.................................................................................. 38 9 Fish 40 9.1 Biological background......................................................................................................... 40 9.1.1 Hearing in fish ........................................................................................................ 40 9.1.2 Impact of sonar on fish ........................................................................................... 45 9.1.3 Mitigation measures for fish................................................................................... 47 10 Recommendations.......................................................................................................................