A US court just ruled that Navy sonar harms whales and dolphins

Josh Hrala:

The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in California has ruled that the low-frequency active sonar (LFA) systems used by the US Navy for training missions violates the Marine Mammal protection Act, and negatively impacts whales, dolphins, and walruses who rely on sound to navigate the seas.

The ruling also finds that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) – the body that gave the Navy clearance to use the LFA – needs to do more to avoid the destruction of marine mammal populations and environments.

There’s no word as yet on when and how this court ruling will change the Navy’s policy, but it means that they’re going to have to step up their game and use sonar more carefully in future to avoid harming marine animals (as well as legal repercussions).

“This systematic under-protection of marine mammals cannot be consistent with the requirement that mitigation measures result in the ‘least practicable adverse impact’ on marine mammals,” the court said, according to Alessandra Potenza from The Verge.

Right now, the LFA system uses 18 underwater speakers to pulse low-frequency sounds at about 215 decibels for roughly 60 seconds a pop.

While that doesn’t seem like much, these sounds can travel hundreds of milesand are found in roughly 70 percent of the world’s oceans, which the new ruling says interrupts the daily activities of marine mammals by causing them stress, stopping their communication and mating practices, and even separates them from their calves.

“It’s important to understand that the ocean is a world of sound, not sight,” director of the National Resource Defence Council (NRDC)’s marine mammal project Michael Jasny told Nick Stockton from Wired. “Marine mammal species perceive these SURTASS/LFA sounds as a threat and react accordingly.”

To be clear, though, the Navy does already have systems in place to avoid harming marine mammals, too.

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