Feds grant Navy permit for sonar training

Source: Associated Press

Feds grant Navy permit for sonar training
By JULIE WATSON, Associated Press | December 16, 2013 | Updated: December 16, 2013 1:04pm

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The National Marine Fisheries Service announced Monday that it has decided to grant the Navy permits for its plans that will intensify its sonar use in the Pacific over the next five years, despite the objection of environmentalists who say the military is not doing enough to protect marine mammals from the loud underwater noise.

The military insists the training and testing program will have a negligible impact on marine populations.

The Navy estimates that its activities could inadvertently kill 186 whales and dolphins off the East Coast and 155 off Hawaii and Southern California, mostly from explosives.

It calculates more than 11,000 serious injuries off the East Coast and 2,000 off Hawaii and Southern California, along with nearly 2 million minor injuries, such as temporary hearing loss, off each coast. It also predicts marine mammals might change their behavior — such as swimming in a different direction — in 27 million instances.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/science/article/Feds-grant-Navy-permit-for-sonar-training-5068671.php