September 13, 2023 — Saying protective distances adopted by the National Marine Fisheries Service for incidental harassment authorizations related to offshore wind sonar work is having the opposite effect, Save the Right Whales Coalition wants the federal government to take emergency action to halt the work.
NOAA Fisheries issues permits for “incidental harassment” of whales and dolphins when it authorizes seabed surveying using high-intensity noise devices.
“Our data shows that the sonar is producing Level B harassment noise levels at distances that exceed those set by NOAA Fisheries,” Lisa Linowes, co-founder of Save the Right Whales Coalition, wrote in a Sept. 8 letter to Richard Spinrad, NOAA administrator and undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. “Marine mammals are likely getting much closer to the sonar than should be allowed.”