Sonar, which is primarily used by the US Navy to train sailors on detecting "super quiet" submarines operating in relatively shallow water, can harm marine mammals by disrupting their feeding areas, places where they reside, as well as their migratory corridors. At close range, sonar can also cause deafness or death.
Under the agreement, the Navy will be banned from using sonar and explosives in specified areas near Hawaii, and will be prohibited from operating sonar in blue whale feeding areas near San Diego, according to environmental groups.
"By agreeing to this settlement, the Navy acknowledges that it doesn’t need to train in every square inch of the ocean and that it can take reasonable steps to reduce the death toll of its activities," Earthjustice attorney David Henkin was quoted as saying by the LA Times.
Lt. Cmdr. Matt Knight, spokesman for the US Navy, said they had agreed to the settlement because they faced "the real possibility that the court would stop critically important training and testing." The spokesman added that "the Navy has been, and will continue to be, good environmental stewards as we prepare for and conduct missions in support of our national security."
The negotiations for the settlement came after a ruling in April by Judge Mollway, which found the National Marine Fisheries service had violated federal environmental laws when it said the Navy’s training would have a "negligible impact" on marine mammals.
The species affected are whales, dolphins, seals, and sea lions.
The bulk of the litigation focused on the extent of harm inflicted on these animals, with the Navy saying its training could kill 155 whales throughout the year and environmentalists arguing that the number of deaths and injuries would be much higher. Judge Mollway ruled in favor of environmentalists, saying that the Navy had greatly underestimated the death toll of its training regimen.
Though the decision would curtail the US Navy’s training exercises, Knight conceded that the settlement "preserves critically important testing and training."
