Saving Seafood

US probes dolphin death after Navy uses sonar

November 4, 2015 — HONOLULU (AP) ” The National Marine Fisheries Service on Wednesday said it was investigating the death of two dolphins found washed ashore in California shortly after Navy ships were using sonar in nearby waters.

The animals are being analyzed to try to determine what caused them to get stranded, agency spokesman Jim Milbury said.

The dolphins were common bottlenose dolphins, Navy spokeswoman Lt. Julie Holland said. They were found Oct. 21 at Imperial Beach and at Silver Strand beach in San Diego.

Two Navy ships were using mid-frequency active sonar 80 nautical miles away from where the dolphins were found, Holland said. They used the sonar for slightly more than an hour over two days from Oct. 19.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Navy, environmental groups settle lawsuit, limiting some training that harms whales in Pacific

September 14, 2015 — HONOLULU (AP) — The Navy agreed to limit its use of sonar and other training that inadvertently harms whales, dolphins and other marine mammals off Hawaii and California in a settlement with environmental groups approved Monday.

A centerpiece of the agreement signed by a federal judge in Honolulu includes limits or bans on mid-frequency active sonar and explosives in specified areas around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, Earthjustice attorney David Henkin said.

Sonar at a great distance can disrupt feeding and communication of marine mammals, and it can cause deafness or death at a closer distance, Henkin said.

In some cases, training exercises can kill. Four dolphins died in 2011 in San Diego when they got too close to an explosives training exercise, he said.

The Navy estimated it could inadvertently kill 155 whales and dolphins off Hawaii and Southern California, mostly from explosives. It estimated it could cause more than 11,000 serious injuries off the East Coast and 2,000 off Hawaii and Southern California.

Lt. Cmdr. Matt Knight, a U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesman, said the settlement preserves key testing and training.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News and World Report