Limited Options in Canada’s Regulatory Tools for Addressing Underwater Noise

Abstract

Over the last two decades, underwater noise has been recognized as a significant threat to marine ecosystems. With an accelerating blue economy and industrial expansion, human-generated noise continues to increase, deepening this threat and its impacts. Such noise is produced by various human activities that span industries such as tourism, shipping, fishing, and energy. In Canada, these industries fall under a variety of jurisdictions and regulatory authorities, creating silos across noise-producing activities. Holistic management and planning approaches such as Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) could assist decision-makers in minimizing the negative impacts of underwater noise; however, an understanding of how noise might be addressed through existing regulatory tools remains limited. This study provides an assessment of Canada's ocean regulatory tools and their potential to address noise. A deductive document analysis was used to uncover current strengths, weaknesses, and gaps in the legislation. Results indicate minimal noise-related language in legislation and regulations, with explicit mentions being exceedingly rare. Most relevant terminology was found within the Canada Shipping Act and the annexed Interim Order for the Protection of the Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) in the Waters of Southern British Columbia. While this study highlights a finite capacity for Canada’s regulatory tools to address noise directly, it also highlights how the interpretation of these tools, alongside developing programs, initiatives, and management plans, can help to bridge current gaps. As the ocean becomes increasingly busy and noisy, it will be important to embed this threat into marine species and ecosystems in planning and management by first capturing the full potential of existing legislations and regulations.

Keywords: Underwater noise, ocean noise, marine spatial planning, marine regulatory tools