![]() ![]() While its early efforts concentrated on answering basic research questions about, for instance, vessel noise sources and levels, in recent years ECHO has been testing real-world measures to reduce noise impacts from large vessels traveling to and from the port, targeting times and places the southern residents are mostly likely to overlap with ship traffic, according to ECHO program manager Orla Robinson. Quiet Sound is modeled on the similarly coalition-focused Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation program, which Canada’s biggest port, the Port of Vancouver, started in 2014 to bring together diverse groups to cut noise pollution from large vessels coming into the bustling international port. Aronson pointed out that slowing down large ships by just a moderate amount translates to even greater reductions in the underwater noise generated by ship propellers and engines, while having only a minimal impact on vessel travel times. With those pieces finally coming together, Quiet Sound is eager to start having an impact on noise levels in Puget Sound. The ports of Seattle and Tacoma and their joint venture ponied up $100,000 of seed money in their 2021 budgets to get Quiet Sound started. That’s where Quiet Sound hopes to make a difference in the wake of the orca task force’s 2019 recommendations.Īccording to Jon Sloan, interim director of the Port of Seattle’s maritime environment and sustainability program, the port first had to take those recommendations and help rally a planning team that includes state, local and federal agencies, the Makah Tribe, the shipping industry and nonprofits like Maritime Blue. ![]() A noisier ocean makes all of this more challenging. Like an underwater sprinter, adult orcas burn a lot of energy chasing chinook salmon, one fish at a time, and with less food to go around, adults struggle to catch enough to feed themselves, much less find the energy to reproduce and feed their hungry calves. Even the mere presence of vessels within 400 yards can disrupt the southern residents, especially females, as they hunt for scarce fish, research led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows. ![]() These echolocating marine mammals rely on sound to navigate, find food and communicate in a relatively dark seascape.Īs more ships speed through the growing region’s waters, however, the added noise drowns out the orcas’ calls, increases their stress levels and limits their ability to seek out their preferred prey, endangered chinook salmon. Vessels, both their presence and the underwater noise they generate, are among the top threats to the recovery of the southern resident orcas who frequent Puget Sound in the summer and fall each year. The next year, the task force released final recommendations for reversing the decline of these struggling marine mammals, and included some recommendations focused on reducing vessel noise. Quiet Sound’s origins can be traced to the Southern Resident Orca Task Force, formed in 2018 by Washington Gov. Now with more than $800,000 in funding for the next couple years, including from the state Legislature, the program hopes to turn down the volume on cargo ships, ferries, tugboats, fish processors and oil tankers in greater Puget Sound. Its organizers thus far have concentrated on finding funding, hashing out the program’s direction and basic operations, and adding partners among government agencies, tribes, the maritime industry, and nonprofits. ![]() Today, Quiet Sound is just starting to come into focus. ![]()
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