Addressing underwater noise in Europe: Current state of knowledge and future priorities.

Anthropogenic underwater noise impacts have become a hot topic for environmental managers and regulators in Europe and beyond. Sounds from human activity at sea include shipping and other marine craft, construction and installations, sonar and seismic surveys. This Future Science Brief presents an update on the previous EMB publication on underwater noise, Position Paper N° 13 on "The effects of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals: A draft research strategy". This Future Science Brief expands the scope of the discussion beyond marine mammals to fishes and invertebrates, and outlines key developments that have taken place since the Position Paper's publication. The main chapters of the document focus on: the advances in our knowledge on anthropogenic underwater sound in the Ocean; the new knowledge that has been developed on the effects of noise on marine organisms; and the measures that have been taken to address the issue of underwater noise.