Navy sued over “ear-splitting” sonar on whales

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A coalition of environmental groups
sued the U.S. Navy on Wednesday over the use of sonar, saying
that the ear-splitting sounds can cause mass whale and dolphin
strandings and internal bleeding.

The Natural Defense Resources Council, or NRDC, leading the
coalition, said in a federal lawsuit that sonar used in routine
training and testing violated environmental laws. It accused
the Navy of failing to take precautions that could spare marine
animals injury and death.

Actor Pierce Brosnan, in a videotaped statement, said that
without reasonable limits military sonar could contribute to
the extinction of some species.

“We owe it to our children to be better stewards of the
environment,” Brosnan said. “The alternative? — a world
without whales. It’s too terrible to imagine.”

The Navy had no direct comment on the lawsuit but said in a
statement that sonar use and training was critical to U.S.
national defense.

Animal welfare organizations have been lobbying for years
to restrict military sonar, which is used to locate submarines
and other underwater objects.

They have documented dozens of cases of mass whale
strandings and deaths around the world that they say are
associated with sonar blasts, which are thought to disorient
marine mammals and can cause bleeding from the eyes and ears.

Two years ago the NRDC and other groups successfully
blocked the global deployment of the U.S. Navy’s low-frequency
active sonar system and restricted its use to testing and
training in a limited area of the north-west Pacific Ocean.

Wednesday’s lawsuit targets mid-frequency sonar which the
coalition said can emit noise above 235 decibels and sounds
like a rocket blasting off.

The suit said the Navy’s use of mid-frequency sonar
violates the Marine Mammal Act and at least two other federal
laws. The legal action seeks to compel the Navy to take
precautions such as avoiding migration routes and breeding
areas or increasing the volume of sonar activity gradually so
that mammals have a chance to flee.

“Military sonar needlessly threatens whole populations of
whales and other marine animals,” said Joel Reynolds, an NRDC
lawyer. “In violation of our environmental laws, the Navy
refuses to take basic precautions that could spare these
majestic creatures. Now we’re asking the courts to enforce
those laws.”

The Navy said it had “developed and implemented a
comprehensive strategy for assessing the potential effects of
its use of mid-range active sonar on marine mammals.

“We employ scientifically-based protective measures as part
of that strategy,” the Navy statement said.