Whales to gain 'long-sought protections' as navy limits sonar use, activists say

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

A federal court has ordered a settlement in two cases that challenged the United States navy’s training and testing activities off the coasts of Hawaii and Southern California.

Environmental legal aid organization Earthjustice tells the Guardian that the settlement will secure “long-sought protections for whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals by limiting navy activities in vital habitats”.

The settlement announced on Monday establishes new regulations from 2018 that the navy must abide by when conducting activities in the water.

In March, a US district court in Hawaii found that the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) improperly gave approval to the navy’s use of sonar in the Pacific, an issue long contested by environmental groups that allege sonar is causing damage to marine animals’ migration patterns, feeding locations, breeding and ability to hear and communicate. The navy uses sonar for training, to simulate real-life situations in the ocean.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/14/whales-dolphins-california-hawaii-us-navy-sonar

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Joseph Mayton
Monday 14 September 2015 23.21 BST

[arcane1]

1. YES!!!

[reddread]

2. thank God

[Dont call me Shirley]

3. Marine life says THANK YOU!

[MBS]

4. YES!! FINALLY!

I've been angry and frustrated about this problem for more than 20 years.
I would ideally wish that the regulations would be due immediately, but 2018 is better than never. .

[dhill926]

5. a very happy K & R...

[Owl]

6. Not near enough. A step forward, but way too little.

[Judi Lynn]

7. I agree with earlier D.U.'er statements on this thread. It's so needed NOW. Thank you. n/t

[calikid]

8. Good news for a change, what a relief.

Thanks Eugene

[navarth]

9. A good step in the right direction.

And it's ABOUT FUCKING TIME.

[NCarolinawoman]

10. what about the seismic testing planned for the Atlantic ocean?

This will be done by oil companies with blessings from the Obama administration!! !!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

11. Eventually they'll come up with sonar that marine animals can't hear.

[Nihil]

12. That was their previous strategy ...

> Eventually they'll come up with sonar that marine animals can't hear.

It got as far as "sonar that marine animals can't hear a second time" and then
they stopped and counted it as a win ...

[Spitfire of ATJ]

13. I read some of their experiments were so severe they could cause blunt force trama....

We were effectively clubbing animals from the concussion.

Some to death.