Anthropogenic sound—Introduction and overview of the ambient and anthropogenic environment

Abstract

Interest in anthropogenic sound in the marine environment has been directed at concerns about the effects of sound on marine mammals. However, fish make up a far larger and more diverse portion of the oceans than do marine mammals, and they hold considerable economic importance internationally. This has led to a growing interest in the effect of anthropogenic sounds on fish in environments ranging from shallow waters near in-shore shipping lanes to the deep sea. Concerns for effects on fish are parallel to those for marine mammals, and include issues ranging from the death of individual animals to the potential for behavioral changes that could lead to impacts on the survival of populations or species. While the body of data on the effects of anthropogenic sounds on fish is still small, and much of the work is not in the peer-reviewed literature, the number of peer-reviewed studies is growing. The purpose of this special session is to provide an overview of what we currently know about the effects of anthropogenic sound on fish, help define the major outstanding questions on these effects, and to provide the basis for discussion of current and future research in order to help resolve these questions.