RIASSUNTO
Abstract
Noise Pollution continues to receive increasing attention in international level. This paper reviews a growing body of evidence of the harmful effects of man made noise on marine life. There is an urgent need for a European and global legislative framework for monitoring the effects of underwater noise and regulating the input of underwater noise into the marine environment. The unregulated proliferation of harmful man made noise in the oceans and seas poses potential threat to marine life and ecosystems. The EU Marine strategy process has not been identified underwater noise as a form of pollution. However, a number of applicable legal instruments, including among others, UNCLOS1) and the EU Habitats Directive2 Member states with clear obligations to protect marine living resources from disturbance and pollution and to do so in ways that reflect the precautionary principle. Underwater noise should be recognized as a form of pollution within EU legislation and therefore integrated into the Marine Strategy Process, with a view toward developing further specific legislation on the issue.
INTRODUCTION:
Anthropogenic underwater noise is pollution in the form of energy that can have adverse effects on marine life ranging from disturbance to injury and mortality. There are many sources of anthropogenic underwater noise. The main sources include shipping, oil and gas exploration and production, dredging, construction, and military activities. Together these have resulted in dramatic increases in background noise levels throughout the oceans and, in particular, in the coastal waters of industrialized nations3 (Andrew, R. K., Howe, B. M. and Mercer, J. A. 2002).Over the last ten years, accumulated evidence has shown that the energy generated by some forms of noise can kill, physically injure and temporarily deafen whales and other marine mammals4(Jepson, P. D., M.Arbelo, Deaville,2003).Furthermore, intense noise may cause similar effects in a variety of commercially harvested species of fish, also including habitat abandonment, reduced reproductive performance and increased disease susceptibility5 Because of its ability to propagate over very significant distances (from meters to hundreds of kilometers, depending on many factors, including its frequency), underwater noise, like other forms of pollution, is not restricted by national boundaries. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop a long-term overall European and global strategy on manmade noise in the marine environment.