Navy says training could kill dozens of sea mammals

[unhappycamper]

http://hamptonroads.com/2013/12/navy-says-training-could-kill-dozens-sea-mammals



Navy says training could kill dozens of sea mammals
By Dianna Cahn
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 10, 2013

NORFOLK

Navy testing and training could kill dozens of dolphins, whales and other sea mammals and injure thousands more over the next five years, according to the service's own analysis.

But while environmental groups say those estimates only scratch the surface of the impact that sonar and explosives can have on sea life, the Navy believes that most of those injuries would be temporary, that the numbers will likely be lower and that the long-term effects on the species will be negligible.

The National Marine Fisheries Services, the lead government agency that safeguards the ocean environment, agreed last month, acceding to the Navy's request for up to three times as much sonar training over the next five years, as long as it takes certain precautions.

"What we are seeing out there supports the conclusion... that while we are having temporary effects on animals, we are not having long-term effects," said Jene Nissen, the Navy's project officer in charge of the environmental analysis of training and testing in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. "We can do what we need to do to prepare our sailors at the same time as not having any significant impact on the environment."

[MADem]

1. We need another way.

Whales can communicate over great distances, and they don't kill each other in so doing.

We've got to find a way to achieve situational awareness without killing the creatures in the sea. We can put a person on the moon, surely we can come up with methodologies that are more passive.