ECHO Analysis of Regional Ocean Noise Contributors
January 2017 — British Columbia, Canada
Client: Port of Vancouver
A modelling study for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) program to better understand the contributions of various vessel types to underwater noise throughout the Salish Sea, which is important habitat for marine mammals including endangered Southern Resident killer whales. Updates to JASCO’s existing regional ocean noise contributors model based on Automated Identification System (AIS) data yielded cumulative noise maps for various sub-regions of the Salish Sea. The ECHO program is using the study results to inform management efforts and develop vessel noise reduction solutions appropriate to the vessel types and sub-regions.
