1 International Ocean Noise Coalition Statement 28th Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries

We are representatives of a coalition of non governmental organizations (NGOs) and we speak on the behalf of a partnership of more than 150 NGOs who are concerned about the impacts of anthropogenic (human-made) underwater noise (acoustic pollution) on marine biodiversity. We are pleased to address this session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries about the growing international problem of underwater noise pollution. Human produced underwater noise poses significant threats to the conservation of marine biodiversity in general and, as far as this forum is concerned, to the conservation of fish species. The introduction of anthropogenic underwater noise into marine ecosystems and its harmful effects on marine biodiversity, have increasingly drawn the attention of the international community in recent years. This is demonstrated, inter alia, by the adoption of several United Nations General Assembly resolutions on "Oceans and the Law of the Sea" which call upon Member States to submit peer reviewed studies to the Division for Oceans and the Law of the Sea of the United Nations Secretary General (DOALOS). A review of the submitted studies to date, and of other studies on the topic, confirm that anthropogenic underwater noise: • is a source of pollution that can travel long distances and blanket very large areas, • can cause temporary or permanent hearing loss in fish, interfere with fish communication, schooling and possibly migration, cause hormonal stress responses and produce dramatically reduced fish catch rates • is reported to have an impact on at least 55 marine species, including the following twenty commercially valuable species of fish: pink snapper, goldfish, cod