navy granted ability to kill whales

The U.S. government opened the doors to allow the killing of whales by the Navy, over the next five years, during sonar testing off the Hawaiian Islands, according to the Environmental New Service.

This comes weeks after the U.S. Navy and the NRDC, and others, settled the law suit that contended sonar testing was causing irreparable damage, and sometimes death, to whales and dolphins in surrounding areas.

It should be noted that “Hawaii is the only place in the United States where humpbacks breed, calve, and nurse their young. Approximately 4,000-5,000 whales migrate to the Hawaiian Islands each winter. Although the population of humpbacks is increasing, these whales remain endangered.”

Each year the U.S. Navy is granted a letter of authorization by the NOAA.  The letter states the rules and regulations that the Navy must follow for marine protection. It is reissued, annually, provided the Navy abides by the terms and conditions of the letter, submits the required annual reports, and shows their activities do not result in more numerous effects or more severe harm to marine mammals than were originally analyzed or authorized. 

This year’s letter contains the provision that injury or death of up to 10 animals of each of 11 species over the five years is allowed by the regulations.  

Many criticize the NOAA since it was created as a means to protect marine mammals and other species.  This seems like another parting gift from the Bush administration and their slow destruction of the planet. No word on if this decision can be overturned when new leadership is in place after January 20th.

under the sonar…

Interesting that the US Navy and the NRDC have come to an agreement about sonar testing and the whales, and yet, the NRDC is not talking about it.

The Navy said Saturday the deal reached with the Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups requires it to continue to research how sonar affects whales and other marine mammals.

This agreement comes a month after the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of the US Navy, which was not a surprise to anyone. The original complaint, filed by 5 plaintiffs including the NRDC, sought a court order to limit mid-frequency sonar, which is the method of choice for detecting submarines, because it was felt that the sonar contributed to the deaths seen amongst whales and dolphins. Federal courts had ruled in favor of the NRDC, but when taken up by the Supreme Court, the tables were turned, siting that national security against terrorism was more important than whales.

The Navy said the settlement, which was reached Friday, calls on it to spend $14.75 million over three years on marine mammal research topics of interest to both the Navy and the plaintiffs.

The Navy said the long-range research program it adopted under the settlement is basically the same as the one it set out to follow in August 2005, two months before the lawsuit was filed.

As a result of the settlement, the plaintiffs have requested that the lawsuit be withdrawn.

Many critics feel that this is a case where the whales and the environment have lost. While the settlement calls for further research into the effects of sonar on marine mammals, it is limited in stating what must be done with said research and subsequent testing. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

You can find the original article, via MSNBC, HERE.