2023_programme: Setting threshold values for underwater noise in the European Union

• Session: 20. Underwater noise in the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive: monitoring and impacts on marine ecosystems
  Organiser(s): Jakob Tougaard, Aristides Prospathopoulos and Emmanuel Skarsoulis
• Lecture: Setting threshold values for underwater noise in the European Union [invited]
  Paper ID: 1907
  Author(s): Sigray Peter Dellong David Borsani Fabrizio
  Presenter: Sigray Peter
  Abstract: In 2008 the European Union (EU) released the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). 11 descriptors were selected to assess the Good Environmental Status of the European seas. Impulsive and continuous underwater noise pollution were assessed in descriptor D11 using a risk-based approach. The MSFD outlines that thresholds values are set on a European scale taking regional specificities into account. Further, the framework dictates that underwater noise should not lead to significant effects at the population level. A number of concepts were introduced to link impact on singular animals to population dynamics. One important entity was the Level of Onset of adverse Biological Effects (LOBE) that describes when an animal is negatively impacted. Threshold values were defined as the portion of habitat area that are subjected to sound levels higher than LOBE, thereby scaling the effect from individuals to population. This paper describes in detail the essential concepts of the framework as well as the division of responsibilities among the EU, regions, and member states.
• Corresponding author: Dr Peter Sigray
  Affiliation: Royal Institute of Technology
  Country: Sweden
  e-mail: