Slow down for marine mammals

Summary: Global reductions in underwater radiated noise levels from cargo vessels are necessary to mitigate the accumulative impacts on marine wildlife. By utilizing a vessel exposure simulation model, we demonstrate that reducing vessel source levels through slowdowns and technological modifications can significantly decrease the area exposed to ship noise. Furthermore, despite the longer duration it takes for a slower vessel to pass an animal, slowdowns effectively mitigate all impacts to marine mammals. Hence, we suggest implementing speed reductions as an immediate solution to reduce cumulative noise impacts, which can be scalable from local areas to global ocean basins. Additionally, routing vessels away from critical habitats and employing technological modifications to minimize vessel noise can further supplement these efforts.