Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce noise pollution in the oceans.
The UK monitors activity generating impulsive noise from pile driving, seismic surveys, detonation of unexploded ordnance, and some sonar activity via the UK Marine Noise Registry (https://mnr.jncc.gov.uk/). To address sources of continuous noise, the UK is establishing a noise monitoring network, consisting of long-term monitoring stations deployed in coastal waters. Starting in 2018, UK agencies will participate in the EU-funded JOMOPANS project to develop joint monitoring in the North Sea.