Mass whale deaths tied to U.S. Navy sonar, report says

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Sat, Apr. 15, 2006
Mass whale deaths tied to U.S. Navy sonar, report says
The Yomiuri Shimbun

TOKYO - The U.S. Navy's deployment of active sonar to detect submarine activity is believed to have been responsible for at least six incidents of mass death and unusual behavior among pods of whales in the last 10 years, according to a recent U.S. Congressional Research Service report.

In one of the most serious incidents, 150 to 200 melon-headed whales were observed milling in Hanalei Bay off Hawaii's Kauai Island during a Rim of the Pacific Exercise on July 3, 2004, after midfrequency sonar was used, the CRS report said.
(snip)

The CRS report also listed five other incidents in which smaller whales, such as goose-beaked whales, harbor porpoises and killer whales, were found beached and dead in groups of a few to nearly 20. Many of the dead mammals had damaged hearing organs, and all five incidents coincided with U.S. naval exercises in the areas, the report said.
(snip)

Although the U.S. Navy has limited the deployment of active sonar in most oceans out of environmental concern since 2003, its use has increased in the seas surrounding Japan as U.S. forces are intensifying surveillance of China's military activities.
(snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/world/14351692.htm

[TAPat]

1. It is believed that some

humans "hear" it too, making their lives completely miserable.
More suffering courtesy of the US... :cry:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

2. A man I know who's been with

Woods Holes Oceanographic Institution for a lot of years told me about seven years ago that Naval sonar was driving the whales insane, that that was the reason for all the beachings, and that the incidents were vastly underreported and hushed-up.

Big surprise.

Does our government give a rat's ass?

Ha.

[MADem]

3. I have a relative who works at Woods Hole

They do some serious work there.

I agree with your friend's assessment. It's been going on way too long. It's an open secret, and they need to stop doing it.

Anytime you see a beached mammal, aside from the ones smearing themselves with sunblock, figure the Navy's been by...and it pains me to say that, because they should be better than that--but they should spend more time and money trying to find an alternative methodology.

[Tellurian]

18. Wonder why so many sharks are attacking so close to shore?

Because they have figured out the human component is responsible for their misery!

[OKIsItJustMe]

20. (My understanding was) Not insane, so much as deaf

Whales are able to communicate and navigate long distances using their calls and the echoes. Their own "active sonar" is being overwhelmed by the navy's, causing physical injury:

http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/sonar.asp

...
Evidence of the harm such a barrage of sound can do began to surface in March 2000, when whales of four different species stranded themselves on beaches in the Bahamas after a U.S. Navy battle group used active sonar in the area. Investigators found that the whales were bleeding internally around their brains and ears. Although the Navy initially denied responsibility, the government's investigation established with virtual certainty that the strandings were caused by its use of active sonar. Since the incident, the area's population of Cuvier's beaked whales has all but disappeared, leading researchers to conclude that they either abandoned their habitat or died at sea.
...

[OldLeftieLawyer]

24. Yes, exactly ......

It's damaging all the whales' sonar, their hearing, and causing them to run aground and die or else just get lost at sea.

Hell, imagine that crap running through the air around us all the time. How long before there would be murderous madness and mayhem in the streets?

Actually, given how the world's going, that's pretty much how a lot of things are these days, anyway, aren't they?

[Delphinus]

4. The US government,

and so many people in this country, are simply heartless and inhumane. They do not care about the pain and suffering that is caused to anyone else.

[0007]

9. The birds might bring tranquility back into the world through

bird flue.

[Delphinus]

13. Interesting take on the bird flu!

I'd not even thought of that - but Mother Nature usually does find a balance on her own, if mankind decides to not try and take over for her.

But, I'm not too concerned about the H5N1 virus - I heard a virologist on NPR's Science Friday a few weeks ago and he said this one, H5N1, isn't going to mutate into a bird to human transmissible form for a long time. So humans won't be affected, but the fowl certainly will.

[dipsydoodle]

5. People who kill whales

deserve exactly the same fate.

[leesa]

6. I'll sure miss the whales, but at least we'll know when the Russian subs

are about to attack us.

[Cant_wait_for_2008]

8. Shades of Star Trek Movie IV

No more whales on the Earth.

:-(

[Up2Late]

7. I don't doubt this report for a second, this Sonar program is...

...a leftover, obsolete program from the Cold War.

The Russian Subs this was being built for are rusting in Russian harbors, and the other countries of the world only have a few Coastal defense subs.

The U.S. is the only country in the world who still has a large fleet of subs patrolling the waters of the world.

This program is at least as obsolete as the "Missile Defense" system.:mad:

[goforit]

10. Heartless men in uniform.....whale killers.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

11. Terrorism begins at home

but of course, we don't call it terrorism when we're decimating another species... :eyes:

[pinniped]

12. Didn't that asshole Rummy the Dummy say....

sacrifices had to be made on this stupid war on terra?

WTF has he or his other cronies sacrificed?

http://www.anon.org/balcomb.jsp

[lonestarnot]

14. Well duya!

[Marie26]

15. Poor whales

I never knew that. Just adding to the toll, I guess.

[The Stranger]

16. Can't recommend the fucking thing.

[Tellurian]

17. This phenomena has been going on for years, ever since

Bush changed the Navy's old sonar detection devices to a newer, deeper
ultrasound mechanism designed for oil exploration.

This newer device shatters the eardrums of nearby aquatic animals disorienting
them to the point of forcing them to beach themselves or helplessly dying
in the sea.

It ought to be banned..

GREENPEACE STAND UP!

[Coventina]

19. I hate my species n/t

[CrispyQ]

23. Ditto.

"When the last whale is gone the whales will suffer no more."


I don't know who said that but since I read it years ago it has stayed with me. However, I prefer the saying, "When the last human is gone the creatures of Earth will suffer no more." Assuming, of course, that we don't kill them all on our path of destruction.

[DUHandle]

21. You can buy sub woofers rated by h.p. or fractional h.p.

but this?

The power level must be astronomical.

[leftchick]

22. NRDC Has been SCREAMING About This For YEARS!!

Video here.....

http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/sonar.asp

Protecting Whales from Dangerous Sonar
Following a historic victory, NRDC steps up the campaign at home and abroad to regulate active sonar systems that harm marine mammals.



Narrated by Pierce Brosnan




According to a report by the scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission, one of the world's leading bodies of whale biologists, the evidence linking sonar to a series of whale strandings in recent years is "very convincing and appears overwhelming." Despite the broad scientific consensus that military active sonar kills whales, the use of this deadly sonar in the world's oceans is spreading.

An NRDC-led coalition of wildlife advocates succeeded in restricting the U.S. Navy's use of a powerful active sonar system known as SURTASS LFA in 2003. But the fight is hardly over; other nations are developing LFA-type systems of their own, and sonar testing using mid-frequency sonar systems, which have been implicated in numerous strandings of whales worldwide, continues unabated, putting marine mammals and fisheries at risk. And the Bush administration is now appealing the legal victory that compelled the Navy into compromise.

In response, NRDC and its partners have redoubled our campaign, both at home and abroad, to control the spread of this harmful technology. In October 2005, after attempting for years to engage the Navy in constructive dialogue on the harms caused by its mid-frequency sonar systems, NRDC brought suit in U.S. federal court, together with a coalition of wildlife advocates, asking that the Navy take common-sense precautions during peacetime training with mid-frequency sonar.

ACT Now Here...

http://www.nrdcaction.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=52189






Beaked whales being removed from the beach after a mass stranding, Canary Islands, 2002