The Loud Problem Beneath the Sea

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The little-known problem of underwater noise has destructive consequences for marine life. This new threat affects whales, sharks, and dolphins, and dedicated teams are working desperately to try to save them in SONIC SEA.

You can stream SONIC SEA on discovery+.

April 17, 2021

By: Discovery and NRDC

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Photo By: Howard Hall

Photo By: NRDC

Photo By: Howard Hall

Photo By: NRDC

Photo By: Howard Hall

Marine life exists in a world dominated by sound. From pistol shrimp to blue whales, marine species use sound to find prey and communicate, sometimes over distances of hundreds of miles or more.

Over the last 100 years or so, increasing levels of anthropogenic noise from shipping, oil and gas exploration, naval sonar training, construction, and other activities have begun to drown out the ocean’s natural sound.

For whales, dolphins, and other marine life, this has resulted in a myriad of impacts, including stress, deafness, avoidance behaviors that have diminished feeding opportunities, and even death.

Studies have found damage to the swim bladders or inner ear sensory hair cells of some fish as a result of being exposed to explosions, pile driving, and seismic blasts.

The human activity most responsible for spreading noise beneath the waves is the traffic that transports people, their possessions, and their products. More than 60,000 medium to very large commercial vessels — cargo ships, bulk carriers, container vessels, tankers, cruise ships, and ferries — are on the sea each year.

As we are creating the ever increasing noise, it is up to us to hear them, and to turn down the noise in the ocean.