Overview
- Multi‑year hydrophone monitoring in Denmark’s Little Belt, a narrow high‑traffic strait, mapped porpoise acoustic activity against nearby vessel presence.
- Buzz rates fell immediately when vessels came within about 3,000 yards, with the sharpest declines during summer daytime traffic peaks.
- Overall reductions in feeding and social buzzes reached roughly 40–45% during the busiest periods recorded.
- The peer‑reviewed findings, published in Marine Mammal Science, were produced by researchers from the University of Exeter and Aarhus University with industry partner Seiche.
- Authors recommend managing vessel numbers, speeds, and distribution in protected areas, noting the study shows behavioral disruption but not population‑level effects.