The third International Conference on "The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life" will take place in Budapest, Hungary, August 11-16, 2013. This meeting follows the very successful meetings held in Nyborg Denmark (2007) and Cork, Ireland (2010). These meetings brought together scientists, regulators, environmentalists, and people from industry to learn about and discuss issues related to the effects that man-made noise has on aquatic organisms. The outcome from the Nyborg meeting was a special issue of the international journal Bioacoustics (2008, volume 17:1-350) and the Cork meeting in 2010 resulted in a book entitled " The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life." Aquatic Noise 2013, like its predecessors, is intended to introduce participants to the most recent research data, regulatory issues, and thinking about effects of man-made noise, and to foster discussion between the participants. Emphasis will be on the cross-fertilization of ideas and findings across species and noise sources. This kind of sharing of material is of exceptional value since there are many commonalities in issues that never get appreciated except at meetings that cross disciplines and ideas. The meeting will also afford a unique opportunity for participants to learn about issues that they normally do not encounter, and/or to hear the latest science. Thus, scientists learn about issues facing regulators, while industry learns the latest data, etc. The Cork meeting had three scientific parts. There were talks on the most recent science, regulatory issues, etc. There were posters to enable additional people to present material. And, we had a unique third session, calling a "lightning round" where anyone could present a very short talk about their poster or other ideas. While we have yet to work out specific details for the Budapest meeting, the intent is to have it similar in format to Cork, with the addition of more "lightning" sessions. Invited main talks will focus on the most recent findings, regulatory issues, etc., and there will be additional efforts made to focus on new and exciting findings and questions, as well as to continue to identify data gaps, highest priority research areas, and opportunities for collaboration to address them.