Anthropogenic underwater noise levels have generally increased as industrial activities in the ocean have become more prevalent. Because of the central nature of sound in the lives of many marine animals, and the known and potential adverse impacts of noise, it is also gaining increased international recognition as an important global conservation issue. Here, a current compilation and synthesis of official documents, reports, and strategic plans from various intergovernmental, governmental, and international organizations, and noise-related projects and programs, demonstrate increasing efforts to understand anthropogenic underwater noise, and the mitigation and management measures that are being considered to reduce noise. While some entities aim to better understand and quantify underwater noise and its impacts, others have recommended explicit mitigation measures including spatio-temporal approaches to managing noise sources, and vessel quieting technologies. New approaches also include the development of certification or voluntary noise-reduction programs and agreements. We highlight four considerations that will better link the potential impacts of noise with corresponding mitigation and noise reducing efforts: 1) collaboration to address the transboundary and cumulative nature of underwater noise; 2) differing countries’ implementation capabilities for addressing noise; 3) time and intensity tradeoffs (e.g., louder noise for a shorter time period versus quieter but for longer); and 4) variable noise impacts depending on specific life history stages and life functions. Our review affirms the international consensus that anthropogenic underwater noise is a currently pervasive yet relatively transient form of pollution, the effects of which can be significantly reduced through effective mitigation and regulatory action.

随着海洋工业活动的日益普遍，人为产生的水下噪声水平普遍增加。由于声音在许多海洋动物的生命中居于中心地位，并且已知且潜在地对噪声产生不利影响，因此，作为重要的全球性保护问题，它也在国际上获得了越来越多的认可。在这里，来自各个政府间，政府和国际组织以及与噪声有关的项目和计划的官方文档，报告和战略计划的最新汇编和综合说明了人们在加深对人为水下噪声的理解以及缓解和管理措施方面的努力。正在考虑减少噪音。一些实体旨在更好地理解和量化水下噪声及其影响，其他人则建议采取明确的缓解措施，包括时空管理噪声源的方法以及船舶消声技术。新方法还包括制定认证或自愿减少噪音的计划和协议。我们强调了四个考虑因素，它们将更好地将噪声的潜在影响与相应的缓解措施和降噪工作联系起来：1）协作以解决水下噪声的跨界和累积性质；2）不同国家处理噪声的实施能力；3）时间和强度的权衡（例如，较短时间段的声音较大而较安静时间段的声音较大）；和4）取决于特定的生活史阶段和生活功能的可变噪声影响。