Background:

Dynamic Ocean supported the Fisheries and Oceans Canada – Marine & Environmental Quality Department (DFO MEQ) program for the development of several guidance documents to address underwater noise studies in the Arctic. There are currently several projects ongoing and planned for the development of Small Craft Harbours (SCH) in Nunavut. Both Fisheries and Oceans Canada - Small Craft Harbours (DFO-SCH) and Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program (DFO-FFHPP) are interested in ensuring effective monitoring and management of underwater sound in the Arctic occurs during construction. For DFO-SCH, they are interested in academic approaches to monitor and understand the impacts of SCH construction, while DFO-FFHPP are interested in understanding ways to provide stronger guidance to proponents through the Fisheries Act Authorization process.

Services Provided:

 The two guidance documents developed for DFO MEQ include:

• A Study Design for the collection of underwater ocean noise data pre, during and post SCH construction activities unrelated to the active regulatory requirements imposed under the Fisheries Act. This Study Design will serve as a basis for future DFO funded SCH facilities/infrastructure, providing some direction on how to collect underwater noise data in different locations so that it can be used for trend and site-to-site comparisons. This exercise will also hopefully assist in some form of standardization to the best extent possible and a better understanding of underwater noise that could lead to improvements in mitigating underwater noise from marine construction.

• A Work Plan that can be utilized by DFO-FFHPP personnel for the design and development of FAA conditions and to provide proponents with some guidance on the design and implementation of an acoustics monitoring program to support their FAA commitments. DFO-FFHPP are interested in providing stronger guidance to proponents so that there is consistency in the approach to monitoring underwater noise levels across projects (e.g., acoustic recorder setting, deployment method).

Dynamic Ocean also supported DFO MEQ by providing two workshops on these topics:

• Workshop 1 focused on training DFO personnel on the contents of the Study Design and Work Plan guidance documents.

• Workshop 2 trained DFO personnel on the current state of knowledge on underwater noise in the Arctic, including sources, spatial and temporal trends, and on the impacts of underwater noise on Arctic marine mammals.