With the temporary lifting of some restrictions on the Navy’s use of high-power sonar during training exercises, marine mammals are once again in danger of being injured and killed.
A 2003 study published in the journal Nature suggested that high-powered sonar from Navy ships appears to be giving whales, dolphins and other marine mammals a version of the bends, causing them to develop dangerous gas bubbles in tissues and blood vessels and to beach themselves and die.
The Navy’s own assessments that dozens of marine mammals, particularly deep-diving whales, could be harmed by the intense sound waves prompted the earlier court-ordered restrictions that required the Navy to establish a 12-nautical-mile, no-sonar zone along the coast and to post lookouts for marine mammals.
Of course the Navy needs to conduct sonar training, but as California Coastal Commissioner Sara Wan stated, “the Navy can carry out its mission as well as protect the whales.”
While the court weighs the legal arguments, concerned citizens can contact their members of congress and express support for requiring the Navy to obey laws that protect marine mammals. To learn more, visit www.HelpingWildlife.com.
Christine Martin
Staff Writer, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals