Review of Seismic Survey Impacts on Marine Fish and Invertebrates

Australian government agencies and research institutions provide a critical synthesis of scientific evidence on the effects of marine seismic survey noise. The work updates a prior review summarizing 70 peer-reviewed studies and incorporates research from the past four years. It was produced by Geoscience Australia in collaboration with Curtin University and CSIRO.

Use Cases

• Analyzing reported impacts on specific marine species mentioned in the reviewed literature, such as mortality rates or behavioral changes in fish.
• Identifying research gaps related to key life stages of commercially important or protected species for future study design.
• Comparing terminology and sound exposure metrics across different studies to assess standardization needs.
• Evaluating recommendations for environmental baseline data collection to inform management strategies.
• Reviewing evidence on the interaction of seismic signals with other stressors for cumulative impact assessment.

Strengths

• Synthesizes findings from 70 peer-reviewed scientific studies.
• Incorporates research published in the four years prior to its creation, ensuring updated evidence.

Limitations

• The dataset is a literature review PDF, not primary observational or experimental data.
• It identifies research gaps, including a limited range of studied species and a focus on individual rather than population-level impacts.
• The underlying data is static and not updated in real-time.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, Curtin University, CSIRO via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Critical synthesis and literature review of published scientific studies.

Time Range

Covers studies up to approximately four years prior to publication.

Freshness

null

Geography

Focus is on evidence relevant to Australian marine environments, but includes global studies.