US Navy banned from using sonar that harms dolphins and walruses

Low-frequency sonar used for training and testing can injure whales and other marine life, and disrupt their feeding and mating

Associated Press

Saturday 16 July 201605.57 BST

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that the US Navy was wrongly allowed to use sonar in the nation’s oceans that could harm whales and other marine life.

The ninth circuit court of appeals reversed a lower court decision upholding approval granted in 2012 for the Navy to use low-frequency sonar for training, testing and routine operations.

The five-year approval covered peacetime operations in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea.

The appellate panel sent the matter back to the lower court for further proceedings.

A message seeking comment from representatives of the US Pacific Fleet in Honolulu was not immediately returned.

Sonar, used to detect submarines, can injure whales, seals, dolphins and walruses and disrupt their feeding and mating.

The 2012 rules adopted by the National Marine Fisheries Service permitted Navy sonar use to affect about 30 whales and two dozen pinnipeds; marine mammals with front and rear flippers such as seals and sea lions, each year.

The Navy was required to shut down or delay sonar use if a marine mammal was detected near the ship. Loud sonar pulses also were banned near coastlines and in certain protected waters.

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US Navy limits 'whale-harming' sonar in Pacific

14 September 2015 

The US Navy has agreed to limit its use of sonar that may inadvertently harm whales and dolphins in waters near Hawaii and California.

A federal judge in Honolulu signed the deal between the Navy and environmental groups on Monday.

It restricts or bans the use of mid-frequency active sonar and explosives used in training exercises.

Campaigners say that sonar disrupts the feeding of marine mammals, and can even cause deafness or death.

An explosives training exercise in San Diego four years ago killed four dolphins, Earthjustice lawyer David Henkin said when announcing the agreement.

He said the deal means:

• The Navy cannot use sonar in a well-known habitat for beaked whales between Santa Catalina Island and San Nicolas Island
• Sonar is banned in a blue whale feeding area near San Diego
• Sonar and explosives training is banned on the eastern side of the Big Island in Hawaii
• The number of major training exercises between Maui and the Big Island will be set
• Any injuries or deaths will be investigated by the National Marine Fisheries Service

Contiued ...

US Navy to deploy combat dolphins for Black Sea military drills – report

Published time: April 21, 2014 20:21 

Edited time: April 22, 2014 10:33

American combat dolphins and sea lions will undergo a lengthy plane flight in order to participate in NATO war games in the Black Sea, a spokesman for the US Navy's marine mammals program reportedly said.

Twenty dolphins and ten sea lions will take part in the drills, which will last between one and two weeks, spokesman Tom LaPuzza said, as cited by Izvestia newspaper.

The war games are one of eight joint NATO-Ukrainian military exercises scheduled to take place this year.

During their Black Sea stay, the US dolphins will test a new anti-radar system, designed to disorientate enemy sonars. Both sea lions and dolphins will look for mines and military divers, LaPuzza said.

According to the spokesman, the exercises will be held within the framework of the marine mammals training program, which includes the protection of ships and harbors, as well as mine detection by animals.

New armor for dolphins, developed at a specialized research center at the University of Hawaii, will also be put to the test in the Black Sea, he added.

The marine mammals will be transferred from their base in San Diego, California to the Black Sea via a plane equipped with a special bath, the spokesman told the paper.

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Navy Seeks Secrets of Cicada Song

Megan Gannon, News Editor

Date: 03 June 2013 Time: 12:11 PM ET

For having relatively small bodies, cicadas make an impressive racket. Now, researchers with the U.S. Navy are trying to tap into the insects' acoustic abilities to create better techniques for remote sensing and other communications underwater.

Scientists have long been captivated by periodical cicadas, which have what may be the most extended youth of any known insect. It takes them 13 or 17 years to mature, depending on the brood. Cicadas also spend most of their lives underground, but when they reach adulthood, they crawl out of the dirt for a few weeks to molt and mate, have babies and die.

Their brief presence above the surface is marked by a deafening chorus of mating calls; East Coasters experiencing the emergence of Brood II are well aware of the noise, which can reach up to 100 decibels.

More at: http://www.livescience.com/37084-navy-seeks-secrets-of-cicada-song.html

US Navy in deep water after ship hits World Heritage reef in Philippines

USS Guardian runs aground on Tubbataha Reef

January 2013. The Philippines authorities will fine the US Navy heavily after a minesweeper, USS Guardian, ran aground on a reef in a World Heritage site, Tubbatha Reef, which is rated in the top 10 dive sites in the world.

The Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board (TPAMB) has announced that it will fine the US navy for several violations of its rules, including damaging the reef. Their statement reads:

"TPAMB has a mandate to protect, preserve and promote the resources of Tubbataha Reef. In order to fulfill that mandate and uphold the rule of law, it is the TPAMB's intention to serve the US Navy with a formal notice listing violations of the above law in the grounding incident of January 17 involving the USS Guardian.
We will ask them to take responsibility, and immediately pay the fines that can be estimated at this time.

The violations that are evident at this time, include the following:

Section 19- UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY

Section 21 - NON-PAYMENT OF CONSERVATION FEE

Section 30 - OBSTRUCTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

Section 20 - DAMAGES TO THE REEF

Section 26G - DESTROYING RESOURCES

Subsequent to ship retrieval / and the assessment of Park damage, the TPAMB intends to serve a second formal notice of violation to the US Navy, that will quantify the estimate of destruction and the fines that must be paid."

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/uss-guardian.html

Dolphins retired by U.S. Navy: Meet the other animals of war

The U.S. Navy has revealed it is retiring its group of mine-seeking dolphins, in what will be the end of an era for human-animal military relations.

When the dolphins are replaced by unmanned, torpedo-shaped 'knifefish' underwater robots in 2017, the marine mammals will join a long list of species recruited to help out scientists and the military over the years.

From cockroaches to cats, dogs, sea lions and even bats, military chiefs will try almost any animal species to give themselves the edge in combat and espionage situations.

Yahoo! News UK takes a look at the surprisingly large range of animals which have been 'recruited' in the name of war.


BOMB-CARRYING BATS (SECOND WORLD WAR, 1942)

During the Second World War, Britain and the U.S. hatched a plan to use bats to carry incendiary devices against Japan.

They reasoned that bats travel in large numbers and can carry more than their own body weight in flight. 

Their ability to fly in darkness and seek out secretive places was also seen as a plus.

The project was submitted to the White House in 1942 and approved by President Roosevelt, but early tests were not successful. On one occasion, the bats set fire to a military airfield in New Mexico after being accidentally released.

Continued:  http://uk.news.yahoo.com/dolphins-retired-by-u-s--navy--meet-the-other-animals-of-war-124500061.html