LOS ANGELES, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- The environmental debate over the effect that the Navy's most sophisticated sonar has on noise-sensitive whales surfaced again this week in the form of a court order temporarily blocking the use of the system virtually worldwide.
A San Francisco federal magistrate Thursday granted the request for a temporary injunction that bars the use of the Low Frequency Active sonar system, or LFA, until the military and environmentalists report back next week with an interim solution to the problem.
"The decision is a crucial step to protect our oceans and, in particular, whales and other marine mammals that depend on hearing for their very survival," said Joel Reynolds, senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "Deployment of LFA over 75 percent of the world's oceans ... threatens marine life on a staggering and unprecedented geographic scale, not just the 'small number of marine mammals' that the law allows."
The NRDC and other organizations went to court over concerns that the high-intensity sounds the LFA sonar uses to flush out hidden submarines were so strong they could kill whales. Critics of LFA blame the system for recent instances of groups of whales beaching themselves, possibly because their internal sound-based navigational organs are damaged by sounds emitted by the sonar that can be more than 140 decibels.
Dr. Theodore Walker, a retired marine biologist and author of the venerable whale classic, "The Grey Whale Primer," told United Press International on Friday from his home in Seattle that the effects of sonar on whales required further study to determine if the whale deaths chalked up to sonar were actually the result of other factors.
"There is one troublesome reality in the behavior of the whale, and that is certain whale species will follow their comrades and beach themselves," Walker said in a telephone interview.
"I think it's a great idea to hold off until they have more research," he added. "The world wasn't put together in one day in terms of research."
In her 52-page ruling, Magistrate Elizabeth LaPorte said that while the national security implications of the sonar system were understood, there was a plethora of evidence that to her indicated the environmentalists could win their legal case.
"Plaintiffs have shown the likelihood of irreparable injury and of a future violation of the Endangered Species Act," LaPorte wrote. "At the same time, the court must consider the public interests both in national security and in protecting marine mammals and endangered species."
LaPorte said her goal was to come up with a plan that would protect whales as much as possible from the impact of the LFA while allowing the Navy to continue using the system.
The Pentagon has already spent around $16 million studying the potential environmental effects of LFA sonar and concluded last spring that testing would be performed during limited time periods and away from coastal area where the sound waves are amplified in the shallow depths.
"The tragedy is that we really can't be absolutely sure that whether or not the deaths of some whales is actually due to aging," Walker said. "I have always been sort of a 'doubting Thomas' on the whole concept of damaging whales by extremely loud noises released into the ocean. ... One can honestly assume there is a fair amount of noise put into the ocean by all the military preparations for war that have involved explosive sounds used to detect submarines."
Walker agreed that the decision was best left in the hands of a judge.
"The federal judge is probably less biased than all the rest of these characters who have research grants; they obviously want to carry on with what they're doing," said Walker, referring to the developers of the system. "I don't think they have any kindness of feeling for these animals; whales are indeed very special animals."
