A permitting program exists in the United States that regulates, to a limited extent, the use of sound in areas where marine mammals are known to exist. For information on this permitting process, outlined by the US Marine Mammal Protection Act and administered by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service, see:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/mmpa_permits.htm

2. TECHNOLOGICAL STANDARDS

Technological innovations and new inventions hold promise for reducing anthropogenic noise in the ocean. Such technologies, including propeller quieting, vibration isolation, and improved maintenance techniques, can reduce the noise generated from pumps, loose bearings, and fouled hulls of ships. For further information on ship quieting technologies see http://www.shippingnoiseandmarinemammals.com/NOAAMaterials.cfm.

Noise from oil and gas exploration also could be reduced by the application of new technologies. Such innovations include the use of remotely operated vehicles instead of ships, quieter drilling rigs, and new sub-bottom profilers that no longer rely on high-energy seismic surveys. New algorithms for signal detection could reduce the level of sound employed by the oil industry, the military, and scientific research. For fishing and aquaculture industries, the development of more intelligent pingers, activated only by the close proximity of target species, could reduce noise. In regard to recreational boating, four-stroke outboard engines emit less noise and vibration; other technologies have helped to reduce noise created by jet skis.

3. MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

A Marine Protected Area (MPA) is “any area of intertidal or subtidal terrain, together with its overlying water and associated flora, fauna, historical and cultural features, which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment.” ¹ .MPAs allow policymakers to manage not only individual species, but entire habitats or ecosystems. For general information on the use of MPAs in the United States, see http://mpa.gov/welcome.html. To learn about the use of MPAs in the Gulf of Maine, see http://www.gulfofmaine.org/library/mpas/mpa.htm

4. BANS AND ZONING

Zoning is a type of ban, or partial ban, within a geographical limit. It is a proactive approach to balancing needs and separating conflicting uses in an orderly, planned way. Zoning has been proposed to separate conflicting uses spatially or temporally, and is widely viewed as an effective way to protect critical habitat. For more information on ocean zoning off the coast of New England, go to http://www.mass.gov/czm/oceanzoningreport.pdf. For information on evaluating zoning alternatives in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, go to http://www.csc.noaa.gov/mpa/decision_support.html

¹ Graeme Kelleher, Guidelines for Marine Protected Areas, World Commission on Protected Areas, Best Practice Protected Areas Guideline Series No. 3 (Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, 1999).