Research findings published in the Royal Society B journal suggest that the underwater noise levels caused by man-made activities such as wind farm construction could kill fish by making them more vulnerable to predators. In controlled experiments on sea bass conducted by researchers from the University of Bristol, recordings of pile-driving used in the construction of wind…

Researchers are using the ears of whales that died after stranding on beaches to try to work out how they are affected by increasing, man-made underwater noise levels. Scientist, Maria Morell has been working with staff from the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme to produce a study (published in Scientific Reports) examining the inner ears taken…

A new project has been set up that will listen in on whale and dolphin activity in order to protect them and their homes. Scientists from Northern Ireland’s Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) plan to eavesdrop on marine mammals around the Irish and Scottish coasts using a network of sophisticated underwater monitoring devices. These devices…

A new study on noise pollution published in the online journal, PLOS ONE has identified boat speed rather than size as being more of a threat to a group of endangered orcas. Researchers monitoring of pod of orcas in the waters off Washington (US) found that speed was a more influential factor than how big a…

US authorities have fined two people for allegedly flying drones too close to a pod of orcas in Washington state.  In what could well be the first case of its kind, the pair have been prosecuted after capturing footage of the ocras in the Haro Strait, just east of Vancouver Island, Canada. The U.S. Department of Fisheries and Oceans…