Quiet Sound For All
The Quiet Sound program is researching ways to reduce noise pollution from boats in heavily trafficked waterways that cross paths with Southern Resident Killer Whales.
Story and photos by Amika Smalley
December 9, 2022
Noise pollution may be invisible to us, but not to Southern Resident Killer Whales (Southern Residents). In the Puget Sound, noise from commercial shipping and other recreational vessels reverberates through the water, causing altered killer whale behavior: including pod communication, hunting practices and breaching behavior.
An MSC commercial shipping vessel by Seattle's Harbor Island industrial complex. This image demonstrates the sheer size of shipping vessels.
Southern Residents already face high chances of extinction, primarily due to low numbers of Chinook salmon, their main food source. The effects of food shortages could be seen in 2018 when Tahlequah, a Southern Resident, carried her deceased calf for 17 days.
To help reduce stressors for this beloved group of whales, the Quiet Sound program works tirelessly to reduce noise pollution by collaborating with scientists, marine industries and federal and tribal governments.
A Southern Resident Killer Whale swimming in the Puget Sound can be seen dangerously close to commercial shipping vessels. Photo courtesy of NOAA Northwest Fishery Science Center.
The program hopes to reduce disruptive, unwanted commercial vessel noise and its effects on Southern Residents. To accomplish this goal, Quiet Sound will begin the implementation of a voluntary vessel slow-down zone, spanning from Port Townsend to Everett to Seattle.
Reducing the speed of a moving boat significantly decreases the amount of noise it produces. Slowing down large commercial and shipping vessels can mitigate against severe effects of noise pollution.
A vessel reducing its speed by 30 to 50 percent can decrease underwater noise by 50 percent, according to Quiet Sound Program Director, Rachel Aronson, and Project Manager, Caitlin O’Morchoe.
A map of Quiet Sound's voluntary slowdown area, created by NOAA and other contributors.
Quiet Sound's Program lead Rachel Aronson (right) and Project Manager Caitlin O'Morchoe (left), pose under the cover of Seattle's Fishermen's Terminal.
Aronson and O’Morchoe hope that if the trial is successful, it will lead to the implementation of future reduced-speed zones based on whale sightings.
“We could potentially add [slowdowns that are] more responsive to actual whale presence. So, it's not just seasonal, but it's ‘Hey, someone spotted a whale, they're actually here. Let's start the slowdown and then only stop once the whales leave.’”
Slowdowns were initially implemented by the Port of Vancouver’s Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Program. The ECHO Program sets a slowdown at a predictable time annually in regions where whales migrate.
If successful, this trial could result in long term slow-down zones key to the survival of Southern Residents and other marine life.
A bright Maersk Line commercial shipping vessel, image captured near Seattle’s Harbor Island industrial complex.
Amika Smalley is an environmental scientist and part of Western’s College of the Environment, looking to tackle climate change.