AQUO European Collaborative Project - Development of Methods and Indicators for the Assessment of Shipping Noise Footprint on Underwater Environment and Impact on Marine Life

The goal of the EU project AQUO (www.aquo.eu) is to provide policy makers with practical guidelines, acceptable by shipyards and ship owners, in order to mitigate underwater noise footprint due to shipping, which causes disturbances to marine life. Thanks to a pluridisciplinary team of specialists from 8 different European countries, AQUO project results are expected to have significant impacts, contributing to and meeting the requirements of the MSFD. After a general presentation of the project, this chapter presents the methodology followed to assess an underwater noise footprint on marine life due to shipping, taking into account recent results from the project. In particular, focus will be given on the expression of the needs, and by proposed definitions of noise footprint and associated indicators. Special care will be given on the methodology to assess the efficiency of mitigation measures, which are of two types (technical or regulatory). The presentation will conclude with the ongoing research and its use to derive the expected final guidelines.