SOS Bass project: acute and chronic effect of vessel noise disturbance on farmed fish

It is widely recognized that the marine environment is impacted by noise pollution generated by human activities. Maritime traffic is the primary source of diffuse broadband noise in the marine environment, including aquaculture systems, and can have negative effects on marine organisms. Here, we present the activities carried out and in progress within the SOS Bass project (PNRR M4C2 Investment 1.1 Research Projects of National Relevance - PRIN, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU), which aims to address this knowledge gap using a key species of the Mediterranean and aquaculture: the European seabass. The project began with the monitoring of the soundscape in an area of the northern Adriatic Sea and is continuing with the exposure of the animals to different recorded boat noise signatures to investigate the effects of acute and chronic exposure in terms of morphological and sensory damage, stress, and behavior. Based on the preliminary results of acute tankbased exposure experiments, the study will proceed by focusing on chronic sound exposure within offshore cages to evaluate the specimens’ growth, immunity, stress response, reproduction, and behavior. Finally, potential measures to mitigate the impact of maritime traffic noise on the marine environment will be assessed, and a mitigation plan will be proposed.