Richard Collins: Ocean sound pollution is increasing — and it's affecting whales

Dredging, drilling, and pile-driving for wind-turbine installation generate noise pollution. So do submarine-detection SONAR systems and the discharges of weapons during naval exercises

Humpback whales can 'talk' to each other even when tens of kilometres apart — but noise levels in the oceans have been aggravated by ocean warming. Picture: AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

The Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA) was invented in 1943 by French engineer Emile Gagnon and a naval lieutenant named Jacques Cousteau. Use of the device would transform our understanding of ocean life while Cousteau, with his ground-breaking television documentaries, became the John the Baptist predecessor of David Attenborough.

The Silent World, directed by Cousteau and Louis Malle, won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956. Limerick County Library had a copy of the accompanying book. With its close-up photos of a shark head-butting Cousteau’s camera, it made an indelible impression on me.