The din created by shipping and other human activities is rising at an alarming rate, marine conservation groups say, a major problem for sea life reliant on sound below water to survive.

Whales and dolphins use clicks and whistles to communicate with their young, navigate the oceans and warn of danger and hunt for food.

"Human noise pollution is drowning out these vital sounds," said Carlos Bravo from OceanCare, a marine conservation group.

In a step toward a quieter ocean, 37 countries led by Canada and Panama have launched a new effort to reduce harmful underwater noise pollution.

At the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, ministers from these countries committed to advancing quieter shipping design and including noise reduction protocols in their marine protected areas.

"Too often, the issue of ocean noise has been sidelined in global environmental discourse," said Panama's environment minister Juan Carlos Navarro.

"With this coalition, we are committing to act decisively to protect marine biodiversity from this invisible yet powerful threat."

Whirling propellers from shipping, sonar from navy vessels and construction noise from offshore industry all emit sounds that can travel vast distances underwater, WWF says.

Beluga whales can detect sounds from icebreaking ships up to 85 kilometres (52 miles) away, causing panic and flight, it added.

Other marine mammals change their behaviour under acoustic stress, while smaller prey for these bigger ocean dwellers can also be scared off by human-made noise.

One of the biggest contributors to underwater noise is cargo vessels, and cutting the acoustic footprint of the global shipping industry could have a major impact.

Despite this, global efforts to reduce ocean noise "have been limited and fragmented", the coalition said.

Bravo said this new coalition had taken a "crucial step towards giving marine life back their voice in the blue planet's symphony".