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Noise pollution in the North Sea

The North Sea is one of the busiest seas in the world. All this human activity creates a lot of noise underwater. This can have harmful consequences for marine mammals and other organisms in our sea. Fortunately, measures exist to limit noise pollution. The Marine Environment Service (FOD Public Health) and DG Shipping (FOD Mobility), with the support of LifeWatch VLIZ, collaborated on a campaign to raise awareness about underwater noise pollution among the wider public.
Underwater Noise

Sources and Consequences of Underwater Noise

Over the past decades, underwater noise from human activities in the Belgian part of the North Sea has significantly increased. The main sources of underwater noise are shipping, explosive clearance, sonar, the construction of wind farms, and sand extraction and dredging.

For many marine species, such as marine mammals, fish, and even invertebrates, hearing is a crucial sense. Because there is little light underwater, sound plays an essential role in their survival. Sound waves help them with orientation, communication, finding food, and reproduction. Additionally, sound waves propagate much more efficiently underwater than in the air: they are barely attenuated and move up to five times faster, reaching speeds of up to 1,500 meters per second. Increasing research shows that underwater noise pollution has a negative impact on marine life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1StuigNET0&list=PLj9-e008k8AAE1kkLWx2TAlrZfzpoc6eu

 

Possible solutions to underwater noise pollution

Underwater noise is a growing issue in the Belgian North Sea. Because sound travels so far, it is also a transboundary problem. Therefore, regional cooperation with various countries around the North Sea is underway. As part of the OSPAR Convention, a regional action plan for underwater noise is currently being developed (Regional Action Plan for Underwater Noise). This plan includes national and collective actions to reduce noise pollution.

There are measures in place to mitigate the impact of underwater noise, such as improved ship design, reduced vessel speed, a bubble curtain during pile driving, or the gradual startup of sonar devices or machinery used for pile driving.

A sound library for the North Sea

With the help of the LifeWatch Belgium project, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) is currently developing a library of long-term underwater sounds from the North Sea. This sound library is set to launch in the summer of 2025. Well-described sound events will be ingested by the library and available according to the FAIR data principles.

Want to learn more? Visit the SoundLib website.

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  • Noise pollution in the North Sea
    Underwater Noise

    Noise pollution in the North Sea

    The North Sea is one of the busiest seas in the world. All this human activity creates a lot of noise underwater. This can have harmful consequences for marine mammals and other organisms in our sea. Fortunately, measures exist to limit noise pollution. The Marine Environment Service (FOD Public Health) and DG Shipping (FOD Mobility), with the support of LifeWatch VLIZ, collaborated on a campaign to raise awareness about underwater noise pollution among the wider public.
  • Old cockles and record number of shells at the eighth edition of the Big Seashell Survey

    Old cockles and record number of shells at the eighth edition of the Big Seashell Survey

    The eighth edition of the Big Seashell Survey was a record-breaking event. No fewer than 3,500 participants scoured 400 km of coastline in northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, collecting and identifying nearly 150,000 shells from 72 different species. This year, the differences between the three countries were less pronounced, with the cut trough shell ranking as the most frequently found species across all regions. The Atlantic jackknife clam, the banded wedge shell, and the common cockle consistently appeared in the top five. A one-time focus on the cockle in Belgium revealed that most of these shells originated in a distant past, with only a handful of live populations remaining in the shallow continental North Sea.