Boat Noise Is Drowning Out the Natural Sounds of Mexican Caribbean Reefs, Researchers Warn

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Noise from boat traffic is steadily overwhelming the natural sounds produced by marine species on reefs across the Mexican Caribbean, and researchers are turning to underwater microphones to measure the shift and push for tighter rules on how the areas are managed.

The project is led by Ocean World of Sound, which is deploying hydrophones to strengthen management plans inside protected natural areas, including the National Park covering the western coast of Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancún and Punta Nizuc, and to raise awareness among the tourism operators who use them.

Researcher Ray Santisteban said preliminary work shows boat noise has predominated on the reefs in recent years, suggesting the coral banks may be overloaded and that fish are being pushed out of their habitat.

“We haven’t finished the research, but these are the kinds of findings that, together with Conanp, can help update management programs, or let service providers know they can’t send so many boats to the reef at the same time,” he said, referring to the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas.

A decade of recordings

The team is analyzing a 10-year comparison using data collected between 2012 and 2022. While the study is still underway, Santisteban said the trend is already clear.

“Acoustic monitoring continues, but so far we know that more boat sounds are being recorded and there are fewer fish than a decade ago,” the underwater researcher said.

The initiative traces its roots to 2007, when marine biologist Heather Spence began working with the national park to share conservation messages with the local community. Over time, that collaboration grew into an acoustic monitoring system that has now produced an artistic and scientific exhibition.

Exhibition open through Nov. 22

That show, titled Zooxantela, is open to the public free of charge until Nov. 22 at the Núcleo Yaxil of the Centro Cultural de las Artes in Cancún’s Teatro de la Ciudad.

The multidisciplinary exhibition brings together drawing, sculpture, video art and underwater soundscapes recorded with hydrophones, inviting visitors to reflect on the crisis facing marine ecosystems.

After appearing at Mexico City’s Semana del Arte, the project aims to establish Cancún as a global reference point for science and conservation ahead of an international presentation at a United Nations conference scheduled for April 2027 in Rio de Janeiro.

Ocean World of Sound was founded in 2007 under the name “Ears in the Caribbean,” in partnership with authorities overseeing the region’s protected natural areas. Its central goal is to use Passive Acoustic Monitoring to record, study and protect the health of the Mesoamerican Reef through sound.