A Review of the Impact of Seismic Survey Noise on Narwhal & other Arctic Cetaceans Report prepared for Greenpeace Nordic by Marine Conservation Research Ltd. Prepared by Cucknell, A-C., Boisseau, O., Moscrop, A. May 2015 1 Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 7 Glossary of terms relating to seismic testing ........................................................................................ 10 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 12 2. Seismic testing that will be conducted in Canadian waters of Baffin Bay in 2015 ....................... 16 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 16 2.1 General background and information .................................................................................. 16 2.2 Brief description of the seismic program .............................................................................. 17 2.3 Seismic data acquisition: ....................................................................................................... 18 2.4 Seismic and support vessel operations: ................................................................................ 19 2.5 NEB’s Environmental Assessment Report ............................................................................. 19 2.6 Assumed airgun specifications and noise propagation ........................................................ 22 2.7 Comparison of the proposed 2015 survey with other surveys in the region ....................... 25 3. An introduction to the whales & dolphins of Baffin Bay ................................................................. 28 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 28 3.1 General background and information ........................................................................................ 28 3.2 Cetaceans in Baffin Bay ............................................................................................................... 29 3.2.1 Narwhal ( Monodon monoceros ) ....................................................................................... 29 3.2.2 Beluga ( Delphinapterus leucas ) ......................................................................................... 31 3.2.3 Bowhead whale ( Balaena mysticetus ) .............................................................................. 34 3.2.4 Other cetaceans which regularly frequent Baffin Bay ...................................................... 38 Mysticetes ......................................................................................................................................... 38 3.2.4.1 Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) ............................................................................... 38 3.2.4.2 Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) ............................................................... 39 3.2.4.3 Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) .................................................................. 40 3.2.4.4 Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) ................................................................................ 42 3.2.4.5 Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)............................................................................ 42 3.2.4.6 Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) ...................................................................... 43 3.2.4.7 Killer whale (Orcinus orca) ............................................................................................ 44 3.2.4.8 Long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) ............................................................. 45 3.2.4.9 Northern Bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) ................................................ 46 4. Importance of hearing to narwhals and other cetaceans ................................................................ 48 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 48 4.1 Auditory system in marine mammals ................................................................................... 48 2 4.1.2 Toothed whales ................................................................................................................. 49 4.1.2.1 Narwhal ......................................................................................................................... 49 4.1.2.2 Beluga whale ................................................................................................................. 50 4.1.3 Baleen whales ................................................................................................................... 51 4.1.3.1 Bowhead whale ............................................................................................................. 51 4.2 Types of anthropogenic noise ............................................................................................... 52 4.3 Effects of noise: ..................................................................................................................... 53 4.3.1 Auditory masking .............................................................................................................. 54 4.3.2 Auditory threshold shift .................................................................................................... 54 4.3.3 Behavioural reactions to sound ........................................................................................ 55 4.3.4 Non-auditory effects ......................................................................................................... 55 4.3.5 Behavioural context .......................................................................................................... 56 4.4 Noise in the Arctic ................................................................................................................. 56 5. The narwhal; a particularly sensitive Arctic species ......................................................................... 59 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 59 5.1 The sensitivities of the narwhal ............................................................................................ 59 5.2 Narwhals and climate change ............................................................................................... 60 5.3 Narwhals and pollutants ....................................................................................................... 62 5.4 Narwhals and hunting ........................................................................................................... 63 5.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 63 6. How far could the sound from the seismic testing travel with an intensity that could harm whales and particularly narwhals? ....................................................................................................... 64 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 64 6.1 Background information on hearing loss .............................................................................. 65 6.2 General information for all species ....................................................................................... 65 6.3 Arctic species ........................................................................................................................ 67 7. How far could the sound travel with an intensity that could scare whales and particularly narwhals? .............................................................................................................................................. 70 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 70 7.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 70 7.2 All species .............................................................................................................................. 71 7.3 Arctic species ........................................................................................................................ 72 7.3.1 Narwhals ........................................................................................................................... 72 7.3.2 Beluga whales ................................................................................................................... 72 3 7.3.3 Bowhead whales ............................................................................................................... 73 8. How far could the sound travel with an intensity that could affect whales’ behaviour and particularly narwhals? ........................................................................................................................... 74 Summary ......................................................................................................................................