Everyday Activist - Sonic Sea (MLJFF 2016)

Posted on Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 07:00 PM

Sonic Sea (MLJFF 2016)

Movie Review by Everyday Activist X CalgaryMovies.com

Because I’m suffering post-concussion stress from my car accident in January, I am rather sensitive to sound. Loud noise including something as common as the furnace running causes a spike in my anxiety and interferes with my ability to sleep. As a result, my heart went out to the marine life in this film, suffering from noise all the time that they can’t escape. Imagine never having a quiet refuge to recharge or constantly having sounds interrupt important conversations. The documentary follows the stories of various marine researchers as they talk about the seriousness of the problem.

Sound travels faster has more energy as it moves through water than through air. This is why aquariums post signs not to tap on the glass as the animals will hear the small taps as loud thuds. In ocean the “taps” come in many different forms whether it’s shipping tankers, seismic testing or worse naval exercises. The film talks about a study measuring stress in marine mammals. As it turns out, around September 2001 the stress drops significantly. Due to the 9/11 attacks, shipping to the US significantly decreased, causing lower stress in animals located off the eastern coast of the US.

While that is stressful for marine life, some of the sounds are literally deafening. Seismic testing damages marine mammals hearing, resulting in disorientation and an inability to communicate with others. Other sounds such as those from naval exercises are so intense they can cause brain hemorrhages and explain why so many sea mammals end up beaching themselves. The scenes in the movie demonstrating the effects were quite disturbing.

The good news is that technology used to reduce noise in ships, also makes them more fuel efficient, which makes it more likely that big companies will adopt the new technology. With seismic testing, the more accurate method also reduces noise in the ocean. The navy is making an effort to address the problems of their military drills. To their credit they have also donated equipment to help researchers understand the impacts humans have on the oceans.

Sonic Sea will play at the Marda Loop Justice Film Festival 2016 on Sunday November 20th at 7:15 pm at Riverpark Church. Paul Spong co-director of Orcalab will be on hand to talk about the issues brought up by the film.

Paul Spong is co-director of OrcaLab, a land based whale research station on Hanson Island in British Columbia (www.orcalab.org) and president of the non-profit Pacific Orca Society. He acquired a Ph.D. in physiological psychology from U.C.L.A. in 1966. Paul began studying dolphins and orcas in 1967, initially in captivity, then in the wild. His insights soon led to his involvement with Greenpeace in the save-the-whales movement during the 1970s, which culminated in the moratorium on commercial whaling agreed to by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1982. For years his work has focused on the long-term life history of the 'northern resident community' of British Columbia orcas, the protection of orca habitat, and cetacean welfare issues such as commercial whaling and captivity.  

Calgary Showtimes: Marda Loop Justice Film Festival 2016 > | Sonic Sea >