Low Frequency Active (LFA) Sonar, developed by the Navy to detect “quiet”
submarines, is one of the loudest sounds ever created by man and can
travel hundreds of miles through ocean waters.
Because LFA sonar operates
at the same frequency as whale communications, it interferes with whale
feeding, breeding, and migration — often to a deadly effect. LFA can
cause whales and dolphins to become so disoriented that they strand
themselves on beaches.
The Navy is ignoring LFA sonar’s potentially deadly
impacts on marine life and has applied for a permit from the National
Marine and Fisheries Service (NMFS) to “take” marine mammals when using
the LFA Sonar system. W
While the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) does
allow for such permits to be issued when small numbers of whales and
dolphins (in limited geographic areas) are involved, the Navy’s proposal
would use LFAS in at least 80% of the world’s oceans (and essentially any
part of the oceans during times of warfare or “during periods of
heightened threat conditions”).
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
- NMFS is accepting public comment on the Navy’s proposed rule until
Friday, May 18th. Please send comments, asking the NMFS to deny the
Navy’s requested permit, to:
,br>Donna Wieting, Chief,
Marine Mammal Conservation Division, NMFS
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910
FAX: 301-713-4060 (no emails accepted).
- If you live near Los Angeles, Honolulu, or Silver Spring, MD, you can
attend one of the NMFS’public hearing on the Navy’s proposed rule on LFA
sonar.
Contact Earth Island Institute:
Phone (415) 788-3666
Fax (415) 788-7324
email: marinemammal@earthisland.org for more info.
Your voice is
critical to save our whales!
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