Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada; Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.
JASCO Applied Sciences, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2018 Oct;135:290-302. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.07.031. Epub 2018 Jul 18.
Vessel slowdown may be an alternative mitigation option in regions where re-routing shipping corridors to avoid important marine mammal habitat is not possible. We investigated the potential relief in masking in marine mammals and fish from a 10 knot speed reduction of container and cruise ships. The mitigation effect from slower vessels was not equal between ambient sound conditions, species or vessel-type. Under quiet ambient conditions, a speed reduction from 25 to 15 knots resulted in smaller listening space reductions by 16-23%, 10-18%, 1-2%, 5-8% and 8% respectively for belugas, bowheads, bearded seals, ringed seals, and fish, depending on vessel-type. However, under noisy conditions, those savings were between 9 and 19% more, depending on the species. This was due to the differences in species' hearing sensitivities and the low ambient sound levels measured in the study region. Vessel slowdown could be an effective mitigation strategy for reducing masking.
船舶减速可能是一种替代的缓解选择，在那些重新规划航道以避免重要海洋哺乳动物栖息地不可行的地区。我们研究了将集装箱船和游轮的速度从 10 节降低 10 节对海洋哺乳动物和鱼类的掩蔽缓解的可能性。在环境声音条件、物种或船型方面，减缓船只的效果并不均等。在安静的环境条件下，将速度从 25 节降低到 15 节，分别使白鲸、弓头鲸、髯海豹、环斑海豹和鱼类的听力空间减少 16-23%、10-18%、1-2%、5-8%和 8%，具体取决于船型。然而，在嘈杂的条件下，由于物种的听力敏感度不同，以及研究区域测量到的环境声音水平较低，这些节省分别增加了 9%至 19%。船舶减速可能是减少掩蔽的一种有效缓解策略。
