Mitigation of Marine Noise through Strategic Planning, Conservation and Management Support: the effective use of knowledge exchange to aid decision making.

Concerns are being raised over the growing evidence documenting impacts of ship-source marine noise on marine species. Anthropogenic noise can affect marine organisms in a range of ways including ‘masking’ of animals own vocalisations used for communication, navigation, foraging and hazard avoidance which can lead to increased stress, disturbance, deafness and mortalities. Increasingly, calls are being made for noise mitigation strategies and management frameworks to be put in place. One of the proposed possible mechanisms by which to translate this concept of noise management has been through the use of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and Marine Protected Area (MPA) initiatives. However, the importance of MPAs and their effectiveness as a management tool for helping to mitigate underwater noise, in conjunction with their integration within a broader MSP approach, has as yet not been investigated, therefore further exploration and analysis is both pertinent and essential. This research considers the study areas employed by three previous MEOPAR projects (NEMES, WHaLE and 3MTSim) however for the purposes of spatial analysis work and coordinating outreach activities the focus of this project is on waters within British Columbia, and in particular the Salish Sea. This work also considers how the outputs from these projects together with end-user knowledge can be used to further inform marine management and conservation objectives. Specifically, by addressing the following questions: 1) How can MPAs and networks of MPAs be used to provide marine mammals protection from marine noise and, in particular, what degree of protection could they permit migratory species? 2) How can MSP, with integrated ‘quiet’ MPAs and ‘quiet’ MPA corridors, strategically and effectively manage ship-based noise within a broader socio-economic and environmental context? What are the most effective means of building awareness, literacy and management support related to ocean noise for planners, regulators, industry and the wider marine community