The report says that the noise from undersea airgun bursts could affect whale migration and mating, and might even be one of the reasons why humpback whales sometimes become stranded in shallow water.

Offshore oil exploration involves the repeated firing of large underwater airguns to create seismic pulses. These pulses are used for sonar-like mapping of rock layers beneath the seabed.

Environmentalists, many of whom are at odds with the commission's recent majority vote to lift a ban on commercial whaling, were pleased with the organization's reaction to the report.

"This has significant implications for reforming the way the oil and gas industries explore in our world's oceans," Joel Reynolds, a lawyer with the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, told the Associated Press.

"Impacts on marine mammals can no longer be ignored," Reynolds said. The report recommends that the effects of airguns on marine life be studied further.

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