Abstract

The United States Navy performs training exercises that must incorporate true combat conditions in order to ensure sailors have the appropriate education to perform their duty to the best of their ability in order to protect the United States and its interests. The Navy acknowledges the natural environment should not be intentionally destroyed in its training and makes considerations towards not purposefully doing anything of the sort. The occasional deaths of Marine Mammals in areas frequented by both the US Navy and marine life are unfortunate but however, not legally nor legitimately scientifically linked to Navy actions in strong evidentiary fashion. The argument against protecting the nation and therefore placing the welfare of whales above human beings seeks to demonstrate an environmentalist point of view that relies heavily on emotions rather than hard fact that the training of the United States Navy has directly led to the deaths of these animals.

History of the United States Navy Sonar training


The inception of the United States Navy originated during the War of the American Revolution where it began as the Continental Navy. Though meager at first, the early Americans realized in establishing a formal Navy they would prove to the world they had the resilience to become a player in maritime warfare. The tenacity with which the miniscule Continental Navy established itself while fighting against what was then the strongest naval power in the world, the British Navy, lived on throughout the generations (Palmer).
In World War II, the U.S. Navy was vital to the Allies successes in the “island hopping” campaigns in the Pacific Theater which led to strategic victories enabling the finality of Japan’s participation in the war. In Europe, amphibious attacks curbed Adolf Hitler from realigning his forces due to the constant reinforcements of Allied forces and supplies. Submarine warfare became a very real threat during World War II and this carried on throughout the Cold War. The threat of ballistic missile submarines meant to obliterate naval ships became very real after the Soviet Union realized it could not match the immense size of the U.S. Navy’s fleet (Palmer). Soviet Submarines carrying these missiles as well as potentially other deadly ordinance worried the U.S Navy so much that the fleet required a system capable of hearing a ship’s acoustic signature—the identifying noise of a naval vessel— and looked towards Sonar usage to defend its ships against missile warfare by using sound location technology. As stealth submarines and quieting technology improved in the Soviet fleet, the United States increased their Sonar arsenal. After the Cold War, Sonar use remained minorly relevant until the threat of submarine and missile technologies of rogue nations and volatile terrorist organizations became more worrisome to the international community; which required a resurgence of active sonar use and training.


The Current Relationship between the U.S. Navy and Marine Mammals

The Navy Marine Mammal Program is located in San Diego, California at the Biosciences Division of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific. The program emerged from the idea that naval architectural designs could be strengthened by understanding the hydrodynamics of marine mammals such as dolphins. Naval architectural scientists and marine biologists believed that understanding the underwater movement of porpoises and dolphins in the oceans could enhance the designs of torpedoes, ships and submarines (NMMP). Also, the U.S. Navy has found that the biological sonar utilized by trained dolphins can help locate sea mines (sea based explosives similar in concept to land mines) so they can be avoided or removed before a ship ventures near harms way. In essence, dolphins and other marine mammals have actually aided the national security of the United States by influencing the architecture of its naval forces and assisting in the prevention of sea mine detonations. The U.S. Navy recognizes the contributions marine mammals have given to its cause as well as their natural right to existence. It is not the intention of the Navy to cause harm or death to marine mammals. In fact, the Navy takes extra precautions as not to damage marine mammals during their training exercises. The Navy is responsible for funding 50% of marine mammal research worldwide. In deference to sonar usage, the research funded by the Navy is conducted at major universities and nonprofit organizations to evaluate how sonar affects marine life as to prevent careless actions leading to the needless deaths of marine mammals (Noel). This research intensively investigates the physical and behavioral effects of sonar on marine mammals as well as their lifestyles in order to enforce protective measures against knowingly harming them (Noel).


Preventative measures taken despite unproven negative Sonar effects on Marine Mammals

About five strandings of whales or dolphins occur each year in areas used for sonar related training by the U.S. Navy. About 3,600 strandings occur in otherwise non human related reasons and 600,000 strandings occur per year from marine mammal interactions with commercial fishing (Noel). The low number of possible sonar related strandings cannot fully support the argument that the U.S. Navy should halt its sonar trainings simply because the direct scientific proof and high instances of detrimental effects on marine mammal populations does not exist.
In January of 2005, around 37 whales beached themselves along the North Carolina coast around the timeframe that the Navy conducted training using active sonar. The training the Navy conducted was completed by a strike group before the ships left for deployment (Kaufman). However, Navy ships did not use active sonar technology within 50 nautical miles of the inlet in question during the time period in question and one of the species of whales beached in this particular instance has been known throughout history to beach itself sporadically due to natural unknown causes. Ocean Currents taking whales closer to the shore as well as biological internal sonar changes often lead to the marine mammals to beach themselves. The University of Tasmania even went so far as to link whale strandings with changes in the weather. These naturally occuring strandings have had little impact on the overall population of the whale species involved.Nonetheless, the Navy is assisting the government in investigating their possible part in the whales’ strandings.
The Navy also has preventative measures to enforce distance between marine mammals and training activities when possible. Guidelines have been established to create a coexisting medium between nature and war games in regards to Navy Sonar use in training. Positions exist on deck of ships to scan the horizon with high-powered binoculars for whale activity on the surface as well as in the sea. Sonar technicians onboard naval vessels are trained to tell the difference between biological sounds noticed on passive sonar (sonar that is used as an underwater microphone as opposed to an active sonar which sends out high pitched “pings” sounds). When activity is noticed on the sonar screen, the sonar technican must notify his or her supervisor and they would evaluate whether the sounds are biological or an enemy threat. The information is then passed onto the Combat Information center onboard the ship where proper action is taken. If it is a biological sound, procedures exist for the ship’s next course of action. When a whale comes within 1000 meters, sonar is turned down by six decibels. When a whale comes within 500 meters, sonar is turned down by 10 decibels and when a whale is within 200 meters, sonar is turned off completely (Kakesako).

Conclusion

Scientific Solutions designed the sonar used in testing in California in 2004. Like the Navy, the company took necessary precautions in order to prevent needless whale casualties by hosting marine mammal experts to observe sonar testing and should the experts have seen some whale activity gone awry, they had the authority to call off sonar testing (Chea). During this Sonar study, environmentalist groups tried to halt the sonar test activity through legal means but a Federal judge threw out the case due to lack of direct evidence. In November of 2008, U.S. Supreme Court justices followed suit in lifting sanctions on Navy sonar training off the California coast due to lack of sufficient evidence of direct harm marine mammals from this training. Simply put, the evidence does not legally exist. More research may be necessary and updates to current sonar technology are currently in design; however, without hard factual proof the United States cannot compromise national security. The Navy is willing to take all precautions within reason in order to prevent careless loss of life in the marine mammal community but it will not completely halt training or base planning in areas critical to providing the best simulations of combat environments. The cost to the American people would be too great should environmental concerns supersede national defense and lead to another 9-11 style attack. Whales are a natural resource of the United States and as a country that values its resources, the decision to possibly place marine mammals in harms way is a difficult decision. However, until a direct link has been established, proven, and accepted by the Scientific community; national interests and defense of the American people must come first.