The European Marine Strategy - noise monitoring in European marine waters (abstract)

The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires European member states to develop strategies for their marine waters that should lead to programmes of measures that achieve or maintain Good Environmental Status (GES) in all European seas by 2020. As an essential step towards reaching GES, member states should establish monitoring programmes, thus enabling the state of their marine waters to be assessed on a regular basis. In 2010, the European Commission (EC) decided on criteria and methodological standards: low and mid frequency impulsive sounds (10 Hz–10 kHz) and continuous low frequency sound (1/3 octave bands 63 and 125 Hz) will need to be monitored in European seas from 2014 as indicators of GES for underwater noise. The EC expert group TSG Noise has clarified the purpose, use and limitations of the proposed indicators. In 2013 TSG Noise provided guidance for unambiguous, effective and practicable schemes for monitoring underwater noise. A proposed register for impulsive noise generating activities would enable assessment of their cumulative impacts, including assessment on wide spatial and temporal scales, e.g. Regional Seas. Monitoring of ambient noise would provide essential insight into current levels and any trend in European waters. TSG Noise provides advice to monitor annual average levels in a way that is robust to
differences in recording and processing protocols. The new monitoring information from European seas will reveal information on sounds created by anthropogenic activities (and natural sources), of which spectra, levels and prevalence have not previously been described at this geographical scale.