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Guns and Blubber 

An unfolding legal drama has forced judges to choose between battleships and beaked whales. In February a federal court in southern California sided with the living behemoths, ruling that the U.S. Navy must take additional measures to protect marine mammals when conducting undersea training for ships and submarines.

The dispute stems from an “emergency” waiver signed earlier this year by President George W. Bush that exempted the Navy from complying with environmental regulations before proceeding with exercises that include the use of mid-frequency sonar, a high-pitched sound that has been found to harm whales. The sonar seems to lead some whales to beach themselves.

“The Bush administration’s waiver was illegal and unnecessary, and it would have been a very dangerous precedent,” says Cara Horowitz, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which joined other environmental groups in filing the lawsuit that led to the judges’ decision.

 Beaked whales, which are particularly sensitive to mid-frequency sonar, dive to cold, dark waters a mile below the surface to find food, and stay submerged for nearly an hour and a half before coming up for air. Because the animals are so difficult to study, scientists don’t know how many beaked whales there are and cannot determine if the species is threatened. Some whales may beach themselves because of the sonar ping, which sounds similar to a noise made by their predator, the killer whale. In response, scientists theorize that beaked whales experience a sudden decompression, which, in turn, leads to erratic behavior.

“The strandings of the beaked whales are a signal nature is giving us that there’s some unexpected risk that we didn’t know about,” says Peter Tyack, a marine biologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. Still, military preparedness is essential and the Navy insists that extra measures taken to protect the animals could interfere with its practice maneuvers. “I’m sure that the families of the 7,000 Americans that are on all those ships and submarines want all their kids, husbands, wives to be as well trained as they can,” says Lawrence Rice, a Navy director of operations and environmental readiness. The case may end up being resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court, says Rice.

In the meantime, several well-intentioned measures required by the February ruling, such as conducting drills at least 12 miles from shore, may actually harm marine mammals. Training in deeper waters, where beaked whales spend most of their time, could mean more sonar in their habitat. Additional research, which the Navy is set to underwrite with $19 million, will provide data that will be used to refine protective measures. 

“The Navy can and should train,” says Horowitz, “but when they undertake long exercises in areas of incredibly rich marine life, it’s really their duty to make sure they are doing it in a way that has the least impact on the environment.”—Susan Cosier
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