Balancing National Security and Marine Life

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Balancing National Security and Marine Life

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Jessie Comba, Jessie Epstein, Carly Furman, James
Kopco, Margaret Kurth, Elena Olsen, Gerardo
Zepeda
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A History of Strandings
October 1989 20 whales of three species Canary
IslandsDecember 1991 2 Cuvier's beaked whales
Canary IslandsMay 1996 12 Cuvier's beaked
whales west coast of Greece October 1999 4
beaked whales U.S. Virgin Islands March
2000 16 beaked whales in Bahamas May 2000 1
beaked whale Vieques May 2000 3 beaked whales
Madeira April 2002 A beaked whale and a
humpback whale Vieques

• September 2002 18 beaked whales from three
  different species Canary Islands May 2003 11
  harbor porpoises Haro Strait, Washington
  StateJune 2004 6 beaked whales AlaskaJuly
  2004 200 melon-headed whales crowd into the
  shallow waters of Hanalei Bay in HawaiiJuly
  2004 4 beaked whales Canary Islands
  January 2005 34
  whales of three species Outer Banks of North
  Carolina

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the Cause

• Naval Sonar?

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How Active Sonar Works
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Effects on whales

• Behavior altered
• Masking of sounds
• Hemorrhaging in the brain
• Permanent ear canal damage
• Embolism from surfacing too quickly
• Whales strand themselves to escape high intensity
  sound

• Sonar has also been known to
• cause hemorrhaging, seizures
• and memory loss in divers.

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Navys Need for LFA Training

• Title 10 of USC mandates readiness for prompt
  and sustained combat
• Advanced submarine technology requires active
  sonar
• Need to train on realistic, rugged terrain of the
  littoral zone
• Restriction on navy have made training valueless

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Alternative Technologies

• Passive sonar
• Non-acoustic Sensors
• Magnetic
• Satellite
• Integrated Sensory Networks
• Training simulations

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Some Specific Exceptions

• Navy must adhere to environmental statues
• Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), enforced by
  National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
• 1994 Amendment outlines mall take permit process
• NOAA Science Used
• Only small, negligible takes allowed
• Permit outlines restrictions and mitigation
  measures

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Initial Investigations

• Mid 90s NRDC sued climate researchers use of
  LFAs
• 97 -98 Navy halted LFA use
• Funded research to investigate impact on whales
• Found threshold to be 180 db
• Navy uses LFAs at 235 db but with precautions
  taken use has no biologically significant effects
  on whales
• Short term behavioral changes

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NGOs bring U.S. Navy to Court
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Resulting Changes

• 29 measures developed over next 2 years that the
  Navy must adhere to

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NGOs

• NRDC
• IFAW
• The Humane Society of the United States
• Cetacean Society International
• League for Coastal Protection
• Ocean Futures Society

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Class Survey

• Knowledge?

National Security?
Whales?
Whales vs. National Security?
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Things to Consider

• That government agencies may be too closely tied
  to function objectively
• NGOs function as watchdogs to ensure the
  government fulfills all of its duties
• Problem with developing policy based solely on
  best science
• Ocean is an open access resource and difficult to
  regulate its use

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Recent Developments

• In 2007 Bush exempted the Navy from certain
  restrictions
• Was overruled but the issue is still being
  deliberated by the Supreme Court