Deep-sea mining (DSM) introduces persistent industrial noise and other anthropogenic pressures into an undisturbed environment. Yet, there are few data on potential impacts of DSM on deep-sea fishes and invertebrates. In particular, noise from DSM in the deep-sea environment can be persistent, intense, and potentially range over wide areas both in the water column and in the substrate. Since all deep-sea fishes, and many invertebrates, use the particle motion component of sound for sensing their environment and for communications, DSM noise potentially disrupts behaviors. Moreover, these taxa, unlike marine mammals, cannot move away quickly from disturbances. Thus, DSM activities, including seafloor collectors, riser pumps, and surface vessels, all of which generate continuous broadband sound across a large region, potentially disrupt communication, foraging, and behavior in the stable abyssal soundscape. As fishes and invertebrates are integral parts of the marine ecosystem and are far more numerous in terms of individuals and species compared to marine mammals, they must be integrated into DSM planning and in any proposed biologically grounded risk framework. However, to do this, it is critical to fill major data gaps in understanding of hearing, behavior, and exposure pathways for at least a select group of these species.
Popper et al. (Wed,) studied this question.