Vancouver, October 23, 2013
by Larry Pynn, Vancouver Sun
A bombardment of constant shipping noise and increased tanker traffic is putting whales along the B.C. coast at ever-greater risk, a new international study concludes.
Endangered killer whales are suffering the highest levels of noise in their designated critical habitat while threatened fin and humpback whales living in some of the quietest waters are at risk from increased tanker traffic associated with planned LNG and pipeline projects.
“Think about the cocktail party effect,” said the study’s lead author, Rob Williams, a B.C.-based marine biologist with the Sea Mammal Research Unit at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.
“Everyone’s talking and as the background noise gets louder you can’t hear the person you’re trying to have a conversation with. When it gets noisy, when whales live near a shipping lane, their voice, their sound just doesn’t travel as far as under quiet conditions.”