Quiet Oceans
H. ampullatus , the Northern bottlenose Whale As pointed out in one of the most important papers for marine science in decades (Duarte et al. 2020), during World War I and II, an unexpected benefit was observed: Fish populations rebounded after fishing boats were withdrawn from the oceans. The hiatus allowed fish stocks to replenish, likely delaying their collapse by decades. This recovery of marine life demonstrates the resilience within these communities. There is hope for the ocean yet. Did COVID create a similar situation? It turns out that the slowdown in shipping and ocean traffic generally quieted the oceans. What effects did this quieting have on overall ocean ecosystems? In areas like the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park in New Zealand, boat traffic almost completely stopped, and underwater noise dropped by about 2/3 within 12 hours . This reduction expanded the communication ranges of fish and dolphins by up to 65% . Dolphins' calls can trav...