Navy resumes sonar training

[unhappycamper]

Navy resumes sonar training
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jan 29, 2008 5:46:57 EST

SAN DIEGO — The Navy has resumed sonar training off the coast of Southern California as the government and environmentalists battle in court over how the exercises affect whales and other marine mammals.

The training by the strike group of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln is part of a broader exercise to prepare the group for deployment, the Navy said in a news release.

During the exercises, which began Wednesday and were scheduled to last through Feb. 1, sailors train in anti-submarine warfare, ocean security operations and other areas.

Cmdr. Dora Lockwood, a spokeswoman for the 3rd Fleet in San Diego, said Sunday the operations were being conducted “within all the regulations.”

The anti-submarine warfare exercises use midfrequency active sonar. Critics say sonar has harmful effects on marine mammals, possibly by damaging their hearing. Some allege the sonar causes whales and other mammals to beach themselves.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_sonar_080128/