Your cartoon of the week (“A shot across the bow”) seriously misleads readers about the purpose and effect of the Coastal Commission’s decision regarding Navy sonar exercises off southern California. The commission did not refuse the Navy permission to conduct training exercises; instead, it assessed the impact of 14 major sonar exercises on California’s coastal resources and concluded that when the Navy trains here, it must take a series of common-sense measures to protect whales and other marine life, such as staying out of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.
Given the fact, acknowledged by the world’s leading whale biologists and even by the Navy, that naval sonar training has caused whales to strand and die, the commission’s decision is a reasonable accommodation of both the need to train and the need to safeguard our coasts. The Navy’s decision to defy the commission by refusing to take the recommended safety precautions unnecessarily endangers whales and disrespects California’s sovereign right to protect its resources.
Cara Horowitz, Attorney
Marine Mammal
Protection Program
Natural Resources
Defense Council