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Navy's Planned Sonar Training Exercises Get Blown Off Course To search for enemy submarines, the Navy conducts mid-frequency sonar tests that flood vast areas of the ocean with deafening noise, which is extremely harmful—and potentially lethal—to whales and other marine species. Since the Navy began conducting sonar experiments in 2000, dozens of whales have fatally or near-fatally stranded themselves on beaches in the U.S., the Bahamas, the Canary Islands and Japan, and overwhelming evidence indicates that the Navy's sonar activities are to blame.
As a member of the North American Ocean Noise Coalition, IDA has joined with environmental groups—including the Earth Island Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Seaflow, the Sierra Club, the California Coastal Protection Alliance and others—in seeking to protect whales from dangerous sound waves. IDA's Bill Dyer and Melissa Gonzalez recently attended separate meetings of the California Coastal Commission (in Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively). They represented only two of the many concerned citizens to speak out against the Navy's deadly training exercises. Before the meeting, Commission members had received over 16,000 emails urging them to ensure the whales' safety. Some of these were from IDA members responding to one of the alerts we sent out to California members. We thank everyone who participated, and are pleased to report that the Commission approved a consistency determination, pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act, stating that they will only approve the Navy's training exercises if they can conduct them in a way that will not endanger whales. The Commissioners voted 8-1 in favor of adding new requirements for the Navy to follow in order to be consistent with the state of California's coastal plan. Notably, the one lone vote against was cast by a Commissioner who had wanted the recommendations to be even stronger! If the Navy chooses to comply (they are not legally bound to follow the recommendation), they must agree to abide by a series of additional mitigation measures beyond what they originally proposed. This would include: - Reducing sonar noise levels at night and other times of low visibility; If the Navy does not agree to the new limits, the California Coastal Commission could file a lawsuit to enforce their interpretation of the federal Coastal Zone Management Act. The Navy could also file suit, or even ask President Bush to override the Commission's ruling or any decision by a federal judge. Hopefully it won't come to that, and the Navy will agree to conduct the training without putting the lives of whales and other sea creatures at risk. What You Can Do Send a polite letter or fax to the California Coastal Commission thanking the members for protecting whales from dangerous noise levels. The California Coastal Commission |
Despite these dangers, the Navy is seeking approval of a two-year training program that includes the use of powerful explosives and sonar devices. The trainings are slated to begin off of California's southern coastline next month—at the same time when thousands of migrating Pacific gray whales are in the area, heading north toward the Gulf of Alaska.