War Game Rules Changed over Concerns for Wildlife
Jul 10th, 2006 • Posted in: NewsSpecial to Ethics Newsline™ from Adrian Allen
HONOLULU
The U.S. Navy last week said it would use a less-advanced sonar technique that does not disorient marine animals during war games near Hawaii. The move came after environmentalists won a temporary restraining order preventing the use of high-intensity sonar that resulted in a mass stranding of sea creatures the last time it was used.
A restraining order was issued days before the sonar exercise was to begin as part of the Rim of the Pacific 2006 war games.
In preparation for this year’s RIMPAC war games, the Navy applied to the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service for a special permit to use high-intensity sonar, the Washington Post reported. The service required the Navy to take additional steps to protect marine life, but granted the Navy a permit to “disturb” marine mammals early last week.
Previously, the Department of Defense had granted the Navy a six-month security exemption from the Marine Mammals Protection Act, according to the Los Angeles Times.
But after an attempt to work with the Navy to find a compromise between training efficiency and the protection of wildlife, the National Resources Defense Council and other environmental groups filed a lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled that the security exemption did not cover the National Environmental Policy Act cited in the lawsuit and overturned the decision, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In her ruling, Cooper wrote that the environmentalists had provided “considerable convincing scientific evidence that the Navy’s use of … sonar can kill, injure and disturb many species, including marine mammals,” according to a report from United Press International.
“We need to balance what we’ve got to do from the standpoint of military training and readiness and exercises with our commitment to environmental protections and safeguards,” said Capt. Matt Brown, a spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, reported the Washington Post.
The 2004 RIMPAC war games were interrupted when a pod of about 150 whales stranded themselves in Hanalei Bay, according to ABC News. A report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that high-intensity sonar might have caused this behavior, reported the Houston Chronicle.
The Navy says there is no conclusive evidence that sonar is to blame for the 2004 incident, according to the Chronicle.
While conventional sonar analyzes noises that objects make, high intensity sonar –”active” sonar — locates objects by bouncing sound off them. Active sonar is used to detect “quiet” diesel-powered submarines, which are said to be used by North Korea, Iran, and China, and are proliferating in the Western Pacific, according to press reports.
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