BOSTON -- A different kind of pollution in the ocean is affecting many kinds of marine life.

NewsCenter 5's David Brown reported that noise pollution is never seen, but it is heard by some of the largest creatures on the planet.

Since June, all the low-frequency sound in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary has been recorded by 10 recording devices located 12 miles off shore.

Stellwagen Bank is a noisy environment. It's acoustically active with sounds from commercial fishing boats and the shipping industry mixing with the communication sounds of fish and mammals.

"How is the shipping noise that is constantly in there affecting the communication range of these animals? How do they cope with it?" asked Denise Risch, of the National Marine Fishing Service.

"What that means is that the din that is surrounding the animals in which they're trying to communicate -- just like you and me at a party and we can no longer hear each other-- that masking component is a really big concern to us," Leila Hatch, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

The noise becomes a communication concern. Researchers are looking at how the sounds influence the feeding patterns, the migrating and the mating of some of the most majestic creatures on earth.

Most of the sound that travels underwater does so at a very low frequency. The sound generated by the shipping industry and other commercial use cannot only last a very long time, but also travels a very long distance.

"Have a dialogue with architects about how we can work to quiet ships, and there are a lot of ways you can work to make propellers quieter," Hatch said.