Oil Spill Threatens the Galapagos of North America (Ocean Conservancy) | WILL THIS SPILL CHANGE ANYTHING? (Greenpeace)

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

Oil Spill Threatens the Galapagos of North America

California leads the nation in marine protection with the largest network of marine protected areas in the country. The Gaviota oil spill puts ten years of cooperation between fishermen and conservationists to protect the state’s crown jewels at risk.

Media Contact:
Greg Helms
Manager, Fish Conservation Program
805-886-8645
ghelms@oceanconservancy.org

May 20, 2015

Statement from Greg Helms, manager, Fish Conservation Program, and Santa Barbara-based marine protected area expert:

Santa Barbara, CA: “Yesterday’s crude oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara County, resulting from an inland pipeline break, is a reminder that oil and water don’t mix. California leads the nation in marine protection with the longest network of marine protected areas in the country. In the Gaviota Coast area with its world-class and irreplaceable marine life, the community has just completed years of work establishing four marine protected areas due to its very special nature. The currently four-mile long oil slick puts ten years of cooperation between fishermen and conservationists to protect the state’s marine crown jewels at risk. The threat that this oil spill poses to important locally harvested species like sea urchin, squid and lobster as well as marine mammals and seabirds, and the Naples Reef and Kashtayit State Marine Conservation Areas that serve as their feeding and breeding grounds concern us. The companies must be held fully accountable for the impacts of this spill. This spill is a wake-up call for us to look at how we as a state prioritize the different uses of our ocean and the risks associated with them."

Ocean Conservancy: Oil Spill Threatens the Galapagos of North America


see also –

WILL THIS SPILL CHANGE ANYTHING?

Yesterday afternoon, news spread of the latest oil-related tragedy to occur in the United States—an oil pipeline ruptured in Santa Barbara County in Central California, along the Refugio State Beach coastline. Though the pipeline was on land, it was found to be leaking into a culvert that eventually emptied into the ocean. By the time the pipeline was shut off, oil had been spilling into the sea for at least three hours.

As of yesterday evening, officials claimed that an estimated 21,000 gallons had spilled into the ocean in an oil slick that was four miles wide. Unfortunately, as of this morning, the slick had spread to at least nine miles wide, as the winds and tides did what they do. And now, a new estimate says that up to 105,000 gallons of oil might have been spilled.

Refugio State Beach has been closed indefinitely. The area is a sensitive and important place for all kinds of species, including migratory whales and rare seabirds—and wildlife has already been affected. Though there is no estimate of how much wildlife has been impacted so far, things don’t look good.

The cleanup is painstaking work. There are several dozen workers outfitted in protective suits and helmets on the beach, shoveling up contaminated mud and rocks into plastic bags. It is made more arduous by having to take place both on shore and on the water, since the oil originated on land.

Greenpeace visited the site to survey the true damage and to share with the world the devastation to the Santa Barbara County coastline, and to communicate the dangers of fossil fuels so that we can transition to clean energy and prevent this from happening again.

Plains All American Pipeline, the company that owns the ruptured pipeline, has a history of spills. The company has apologized, with the district manager saying, “We’re sorry this accident has happened, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience to the community.”

This spill has not occurred in a vacuum. We can now add it to the sad history of oil-related spills and accidents that have happened the world over in the past years—including one that happened very near to this area in 1969, which spilled 3 million gallons of oil into the ocean.

As Annie Leonard, our Executive Director, has said, “Oil spills are never accidents. They are the direct result of substandard oversight of fossil fuel companies who put their profits above human and environmental impacts.” Each time a spill, oil train explosion, or some other disaster occurs, we look to our leaders to take responsibility to make change. So far they’ve demonstrated that they don’t have the courage to stand up to Big Oil.

We all hope that this oil spill will quickly be contained and cleaned up. But are we willing to keep taking chances for future accidents to occur? I can’t help but think of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s research that shows that there’s a 75% chance of an oil spill occurring in the Arctic if drilling takes place there. Even with that scary fact, the Obama administration has decided to give Shell the conditional go-ahead to drill. Let’s demand better from our President and other leaders before it’s too late.

GREEN PEACE BLOGS -

http://greenpeaceblogs.org/2015/05/20/will-this-oil-spill-change-anything/

NRDC Challenges Navy's Plan to Utilize Dangerous Sonar in More Than 70% of World's Oceans

:: October 18, 2012

Today, NRDC sued the U.S. Navy and the government agency charged with protecting marine mammals from the Navy’s harmful use of sonar.  Both the Navy and the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) have a responsibility to manage, conserve, and protect living marine resources, like whales and dolphins, particularly those protected by the Endangered Species Act.  Unfortunately, the Navy and NMFS failed to meet their obligation to protect whales and other marine life from the harmful impacts of low-frequency active sonar (“LFA”), when they authorized the deployment of LFA in 70-75 % of the World’s Oceans without instituting adequate protective measures...

more: NRDC Challenges Navy's Plan to Utilize Dangerous Sonar in More Than 70% of World's Oceans | Zak Smith's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

see also: what next: Will the Federal Agency Charged with Protecting Whales and Dolphins Stand Up to the Navy? | Zak Smith's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

"Nuclear" seismic testing threatens wildlife in California?

Nuclear seismic testing threatens wildlife in California | Greenpeace Blogs

My Greenpeace colleagues aboard our new flagship the Rainbow Warrior in the Indian Ocean shared a heartwarming experience when a frolicking group of humpback and minke whales put on quite a show. The excitement of their encounter just reverberated through their email and I can see from these photos why they were so pumped. It’s not a stretch to say these whales were happy and playful. Why wouldn’t they be as the entire Indian Ocean is a whale sanctuary where they can live in peace? What a contrast this is to other parts of the world where whales not only don’t have protections but face a myriad of direct threats from humans. One huge emerging threat to whales, dolphins and other marine wildlife is happening now in the coastal waters of California... (more)

SIGN THE PETITION

and another petition:

California Coastal Commission: Protect Whales~ Stop Seismic Testing off the Coast of Central California! (change.org)

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is posed to conduct seismic testing in a grid pattern over a large area off the Central Coast of California from Cambria to the Santa Maria River. Tests could begin as early as September 2012 and last until the end of the year. The research ship would emit blasts of very loud noise into the ocean. Streamers four or five miles long would be towed behind the vessel, which would pick up the sound waves as they penetrate several miles into the Earth’s crust and reverberate back to the surface...

and another petition:

Petition | Halt the Central Coastal California Seismic Imaging Project | Change.org

The goal of the seismic imaging project is to attempt to measure the three major earthquake fault lines which run along our coast. The existence of these fault lines, especially after the continuing disaster at Fukushima, Japan, call into question the advisability of maintaining the Diablo Canyon nuclear power facility, operating near Avila.

on facebook see:

Stop the Diablo Canyon Seismic Testing

and C.O.A.S.T - Citizens Opposing Acoustic Seismic Testing

Chumash Nation speaks out against seismic testing off California coast

The Chumash Nation is speaking out against the Diablo Canyon Seismic project off the Central Coast of California.

The California-based energy company Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) wants to carpet bomb approx. 580 square nautical miles of sea floor with powerful Air Cannons that will blast every 10 to 20 seconds for 42 days straight.

The Chumash warn that these 260db sonic blasts, which will travel through the water and 10 miles into the earth's crust, will devastate the local marine ecosystem and possibly destroy fragile and sensitive Sacred Chumash Cultural Sites.

PG&E itself suggests that fisherman, divers, kayakers, boaters (including our tomol paddlers), and surfers remain out of the water during the tests due to the possibility of illness and even death. PG&E's Environmental Impact Report also lists a number of animals that will be unavaoidably impacted... (more)

SEE ALSO: what next: Will the Federal Agency Charged with Protecting Whales and Dolphins Stand Up to the Navy? | Zak Smith's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Will the Federal Agency Charged with Protecting Whales and Dolphins Stand Up to the Navy? | Zak Smith's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Yesterday, the National Marine Fisheries Service – the federal agency charged with protecting whales and dolphins – announced that it received requests from the Navy for authorization to take marine mammals incidental to training and testing activities offSouthern California, Hawaii, and the East Coast, including the Gulf of Mexico, for the five-year period starting in January 2014.  It all sounds very innocuous until you dig a little deeper and discover that the Navy is asking for authorization to take 33 million (yes, that’s not a typo:  33,000,000) whales and dolphins over the next five years, including more than 5.23 million instances of temporary hearing loss; almost 16,000 instances of permanent hearing loss; almost 9,000 lung injuries; and more than 1,800 deaths.  It’s a staggering and unprecedented amount of harm that should give any federal agency involved, be it the Navy or the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”), pause.

Yet, the Navy is not pausing, apparently has no plans to go back to the drawing board, and instead continues to rely on a mitigation scheme – centered on the ability of lookouts to detect whales and dolphins and then limit the use of sonar when they get too close – that is demonstrably ineffective and inadequate.  It’s ineffective because, as the Navy admits, lookouts on Navy ships only detect about 9 percent of whales and dolphins in the best of conditions.  It’s inadequate because the Navy’s own analysis shows that some of the most severe impacts, such as permanent hearing loss, will occur well beyond the Navy’s “too close” zone.  How else then does the Navy propose that the harm from its activities can be limited?  It doesn’t.  Its analysis and application to NMFS fail to present decision makers with any alternatives or mitigation measures that would appreciably reduce the harm to whales and dolphins.

So what’s an agency like NMFS to do when the Navy – no small fry in the Executive Branch – comes calling?  Follow.  The.  Law.

Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, NMFS has a legal obligation to minimize the harm to whales and dolphins from the Navy’s proposed activities.  If the Navy’s application and draft Environmental Impact Statements fail to offer a path forward for minimizing harm – as they do – NMFS is required to develop alternatives and mitigation measures of its own that limit impacts to marine mammals, while still meeting the Navy’s training needs.

Comments to NMFS on the Navy’s application and request are due November 5.  NRDC will be submitting comments urging NMFS to meet its obligations under the MMPA – develop and adopt alternatives and mitigation measures that appreciably reduce the harm to whales and dolphins from the Navy’s activities.

Will the Federal Agency Charged with Protecting Whales and Dolphins Stand Up to the Navy? | Zak Smith's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Zak Smith's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC | NRDC

see also: what next: Nuclear seismic testing threatens wildlife in California | Greenpeace Blogs

Petition | California Coastal Commission: Protect Whales~ Stop Seismic Testing off the Coast of Central California!

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is posed to conduct seismic testing in a grid pattern over a large area off the Central Coast of California from Cambria to the Santa Maria River. Tests could begin as early as September 2012 and last until the end of the year. The research ship would emit blasts of very loud noise into the ocean. Streamers four or five miles long would be towed behind the vessel, which would pick up the sound waves as they penetrate several miles into the Earth’s crust and reverberate back to the surface. 
Tests would last for 24 hours and would kill or injure marine mammals, including whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and otters. A deaf marine mammal is a dead one as this is the sense they rely on to communicate, navigate and find food. Seabirds and other species such as endangered sea turtles, could be affected as well, with little or no way of mitigating the impacts. Great potential harm is highly possible to the small population of harbor porpoises in the Morro Bay area. They are most sensitive to loud man-made sound and the mammal most vulnerable to habitat abandonment and to hearing loss. 
PG&E’s position is that the tests are necessary to map the ocean floor so geologists can better understand the earthquake faults near Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, close to San Luis Obispo, California. Earthquake faults were known at the time the plant was built. PG&E states these tests are essential in the aftermath of the Fukushima earthquake and subsequent tsunami, and the potential for a nuclear disaster. 
If an earthquake happened within the near future, what could be done to ensure that the Diablo Canyon plant would not have a meltdown? How will these tests prevent that scenario? The nuclear plant was constructed knowing that faults were nearby and that earthquakes were a potential danger. Wouldn’t it make more sense to spend the millions of dollars the tests will cost to instead begin plans to shut down the plant and find ways to shift to safe energy? Wouldn’t this be wiser than destroying untold numbers of animals within a Marine Protected Area, particularly when the necessary safeguards have not been implemented?

Petition | California Coastal Commission: Protect Whales~ Stop Seismic Testing off the Coast of Central California! | Change.org

Australia's Fair Game for Coal

Australia's Fair Game for Coal - YouTube

Coal barons are advancing on Australia. Let them know that our coral and our climate are not a playground for billionaires. www.savethereef.org.au

Some Gulf Dolphins Severely Ill | Gulf Spill

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Barataria Bay

Following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, numerous dolphins were documented encountering oil, such as those in this photo from July 2010.

Bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, are showing signs of severe ill health, according to NOAA marine mammal biologists and their local, state, federal and other research partners.

Barataria Bay, located in the northern Gulf of Mexico, received heavy and prolonged exposure to oil during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Based on comprehensive physicals of 32 live dolphins from Barataria Bay in the summer of 2011, preliminary results show that many of the dolphins in the study are underweight, anemic, have low blood sugar and/or some symptoms of liver and lung disease. Nearly half also have abnormally low levels of the hormones that help with stress response, metabolism and immune function.

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a dolphin called Y12

Aug 2011: Veterinarians collect a urine sample from Y12, a 16-year-old adult male bottlenose dolphin caught near Grand Isle, LA. Y12’s health evaluation determined that he was significantly underweight, anemic, and had indications of liver and lung disease. After the evaluation and attachment of VHF and satellite-linked tags, Y12 was released.

Body mass index (BMI), a function of mass and length, is plotted against dolphin age. Solid lines classify BMI as normal (between lines) or underweight (below lower line). Blue squares represent male dolphins sampled in Sarasota Bay, FL; red circles represent male dolphins sampled in Barataria Bay and surrounding waters.

Researchers fear that some of the study dolphins are in such poor health that they will not survive. One of these dolphins, which was last observed and studied in late 2011, was found dead in January 2012.

Jan 2012: The carcass of Y12, one of the Barataria Bay dolphins closely studied by NRDA researchers, was recovered on Grand Isle Beach, January 31, 2012. The visible ribs, prominent vertebral processes and depressions along the back are signs of extreme emaciation. A necropsy was performed and samples were collected to help determine cause of death and potential contributing factors.

NOAA and its local, state and federal partners started the Barataria Bay dolphin study in 2011 as part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA), the process for studying the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

NOAA is sharing the preliminary results from the study so that stranding responders and veterinarians can better care for live stranded dolphins and look for similar health conditions.

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Investigation of Dolphin Strandings in the Northern Gulf Continues

Number of strandings by region compared to 10 year historical average with 95% confidence limits (the historical averages include data from previous Gulf of Mexico UMEs). The Florida Panhandle includes Franklin through Escambia counties, and the Florida west coast includes Wakulla through Monroe counties.

Since February 2010, more than 675 dolphins have stranded in the northern Gulf of Mexico (Franklin County, Florida, to the Louisiana/Texas border)–a much higher rate than the usual average of 74 dolphins per year, prompting NOAA to declare an Unusual Mortality Event (UME) and investigate the cause of death for as many of the dolphins as possible. The vast majority of stranded dolphins have been found dead; however, 33 have stranded alive and seven have been taken to facilities for rehabilitation.

In the spring, it is typical to see some newborn, fetal and stillborn dolphins strand, and there has been an increase in strandings of this younger age class during this UME in 2010 and 2011. Yet all age classes continue to strand at high levels. NOAA is working with a team of marine mammal health experts to investigate the factors that may be contributing to the dolphin mortalities.

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Gulf Seafood Safety

Since the 2010 oil spill, the Food and Drug Administration, NOAA and the Gulf Coast states have used an agreed-upon protocol to test seafood and ensure that it is free of harmful oil and dispersant residues. NOAA opened federal waters to fishing after extensive testing, and the Gulf states continue to use the protocol to routinely test finfish and shellfish to ensure all seafood reaching the consumer is safe. Some waters in the northern Barataria Basin, a larger area that includes Barataria Bay, remain closed to commercial fishing, as visible oil is still present along the shoreline where the closures are in place. The joint protocol directs seafood safety testing to begin only after visible oil is gone.
NOAA and its state and federal partners are researching multiple ways Gulf dolphins may have been exposed to oil, including through ingestion, inhalation or externally. Dolphins could have routinely ingested oil from sediments or water while feeding or by eating whole fish, including internal organs and fluids such as liver and bile, which can harbor chemical contaminants. These are not likely routes of exposure for most people.

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Study by NOAA and Partners Shows Some Gulf Dolphins Severely Ill : NOAA Gulf Spill Restoration (current as of this date)

> Read more about the Gulf dolphins

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see also | links

• what next: Sentinels of the Seas | pollution & dolphin immune system dysfunction and disease

• whats up - label: dolphins
• what next: marine mammals
• whats up - label: seals
• whats up - label: whales

NOAA Gulf Spill Restoration | Gulf Dolphins Questions & Answers

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Sentinels of the Seas | pollution & dolphin immune system dysfunction and disease

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Bottlenose dolphins are a beloved Florida icon. But, recent studies show disturbing signs of immune system dysfunction and disease plaguing this charismatic mammal. These problems might be linked to legacy contaminants and other pollutants which bio-accumulate up the ocean food chain. For decades, toxic chemicals have made their way into the oceans, leaving fish and marine mammals vulnerable.

As sentinels of ecosystem health, dolphins potentially hold clues to environmental hazards that could impact humans. Changing Seas visits the world’s longest running dolphin research program and other marine mammal centers for a better understanding of the silent threats lurking beneath the waves.

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Sentinels of the Seas - Episode 202 - Changing Seas - WPBT2 Public Television Series | Summary of Episodes - Changing Seas - WPBT2 Public Television Series

Watch Sentinels of the Seas on PBS. See more from Changing Seas.

Video: Sentinels of the Seas | Watch Changing Seas Online | WPBT2 Video

full video - mentions mercury from coal-fired power plants & more about toxics building up in this apex predator - the first born of the young females get an especially concentrated dose and usually die...

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see also

• what next: Some Gulf Dolphins Severely Ill | Gulf Spill

• whats up - label: dolphins
• what next: marine mammals
• whats up - label: seals
• whats up - label: whales

• what next: whales - PBS | US Navy | whale story

• Marine Mammal Resources | Nature | PBS (Ocean Giants | Additional Resources)

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whales - PBS | US Navy | whale story

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Ocean Giants | PBS - Nature

Watch Ocean Giants - Preview on PBS. See more from Nature.

i just learned that blue whales live for 2 centuries - the few remaining old ones remember the really bad days, even have old harpoons still in them. bigger than dinosaurs... living here and now on earth with us today... - problem is global warming is likely to disrupt their food supply so badly that something that huge won't be able to survive.

Whales and dolphins conjure a deep sense of wonder in us that’s hard to explain. From the Arctic to the Amazon, this groundbreaking three-part series goes on a global expedition with world-renowned underwater cameramen, Doug Allen (Planet Earth) and Didier Noirot (Jacques Cousteau’s cameraman), as they capture spellbinding footage of these marine mammals. Ocean Giants looks at how cetaceans hunt, mate, and communicate, and follows scientists as they strive to uncover new insights about these animals.

Watch Songs of the Humpbacks on PBS. See more from Nature.

The first hour, Giant Lives, enters the world of the great whales. In the Arctic, giant bowhead whales survive the freezing cold wrapped in fifty tons of insulating blubber two-feet thick, making them the fattest animals on the planet. But the biggest animal on the planet is the blue whale. Measuring a hundred feet long, and weighing in at 200 tons, it is double the size of the largest dinosaur.

The second hour, Deep Thinkers, explores the cognitive and emotional lives of dolphins and whales. Like us, cetaceans have special brain cells, spindle cells, that are associated with communication, emotion, and heightened social sensitivity. These cells were once thought to be unique to us, but research is now showing that whales and dolphins may have up to three times more spindle cells than humans.

Marine mammals’ extrasensory perceptions and communication skills are the focus of Voices of the Sea, the final hour of the series. Whales and dolphins depend on sound to function in their ocean home. They use ultrasound to see inside other creatures, clicks and whistles to speak, and echolocation to navigate and hunt in the pitch-black depths.

Join PBS Nature, as it dives into the world of whales and dolphins, and reveals the secrets of their intimate lives like never before. Ocean Giants premieres on Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 8/7 c (check local listings).

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whale song spectogram

Spectrogram of Humpback Whale vocalizations. Detail is shown for the first 24 seconds of the 37 second recording Humpback Whale "Song". The ethereal whale "songs" and echolocation "clicks" are visible as horizontal striations and vertical sweeps respectively. Spectrogram generated with Fatpigdog's PC based Real Time FFT Spectrum Analyzer.

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Whale sounds - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Navy Sonar & Whales

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Low Frequency Active Sonar spectogram

The U.S. Navy is experimenting with a long range underwater sonar system which is to be used to detect the presence and position of submarines deep in the oceans of the world. It uses a low frequency signal that can travel great distances and presumeably bounce off targets that are hundreds of meters below the ocean surface.

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DolphinEAR Hydrophones

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Navy Sonar & Whales | EARTHJUSTICE

Navy Sonar & Whales

Navy sonar harms whales and dolphins. Check out this video and hear what it sounds like, and see what it does to these marine mammals. Earthjustice is working to get the Navy to use their sonar in places where it won't harm whales and dolphins.

The incident recorded in this video occurred in Puget Sound in May 2003. It was investigated by the National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, who filed a report.

Video: Orca and Navy Sonar | Earthjustice

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
A whale's keen sense of hearing is vital in every aspect of its life history, including foraging for food, finding mates, bonding with offspring, communicating with other members of their species, navigating through lightless waters and avoiding predators.
Experts agree that exposure to sonar blasts can cause serious injury or death from hemorrhages or other tissue trauma. Whales can also suffer from temporary and permanent hearing loss, displacement from preferred habitat, and disruption of feeding, breeding, communication and other behaviors essential to survival.
The use of military sonar has been associated with whale strandings in Greece (1996), the Bahamas (2000), Madeira (2000), Vieques (1998, 2002), the Canary Islands (2002, 2004), the northwest coast of the U.S. (2003), Kaua'i (2004) and Spain (2006).

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RELATED EARTHJUSTICE LITIGATION

Earthjustice Attorney Steve Mashuda discusses this case in an interview with San Francisco Bay Area NBC News affiliate KNTV.

Navy Sonar and Marine Mammals: On January 26, 2012, a coalition of conservation and American Indian groups sued the National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to protect thousands of whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, and sea lions from U.S. Navy warfare training exercises along the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. In late 2010, NMFS gave the Navy a permit for five years of expanded naval activity that will harm or "take" marine mammals and other sealife. The permit allows the Navy to conduct increased training exercises that can harm marine mammals and disrupt their migration, nursing, breeding, or feeding, primarily as a result of harassment through exposure to the use of sonar.

North Atlantic Right Whales: In 2010, conservation groups challenged the U.S. Navy's decision to build a $100 million Undersea Warfare Training Range 50 miles east of Jacksonville, FL, next to the only known calving ground for the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. The warfare training grounds would include a system of approximately 300 underwater "sonar nodes" connected by cable to a landside facility some 50 nautical miles away. Scientists believe that the loss of even one right whale from non-natural causes could jeopardize the future of the species.

Navy Sonar and Hawaiian Humpback Whales: In 2008, Hawai'i federal district Judge David A. Ezra found that the Navy violated federal law and enjoined it from carrying out its undersea warfare exercises in Hawai'i's waters without adhering to additional mitigation measures to protect marine mammals. Earthjustice had filed suit on behalf of the Ocean Mammal Institute, the Animal Welfare Institute, KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Surfrider Foundation's Kaua'i Chapter.

Endangered Species Protections for Southern Residents: In 2005, Earthjustice successfully argued that the Southern Resident orcas in Washington State's Puget Sound deserve protection under the Endangered Species Act, resulting in new safeguards for the orcas, including the creation of a binding recovery plan, protection for the whales' critical habitat, and assurances that all federal projects will protect the whales before the projects can proceed.
Listen to an audio interview with VP For Litigation Patti Goldman.

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Video: Orca and Navy Sonar | Earthjustice

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Navy Training Blasts Marine Mammals with Harmful Sonar | Earthjustice

January 26, 2012
San Francisco, CA - A coalition of conservation and American Indian groups today sued the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for failing to protect thousands of whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, and sea lions from U.S. Navy warfare training exercises along the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington.

Earthjustice, representing InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, Friends of the San Juans, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and People For Puget Sound, today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Northern California challenging NMFS’s approval of the Navy’s training activities in its Northwest Training Range Complex. The lawsuit calls on NMFS to mitigate anticipated harm to marine mammals and biologically critical areas within the training range that stretches from Northern California to the Canadian border.
“These training exercises will harm dozens of protected species of marine mammals—Southern Resident killer whales, blue whales, humpback whales, dolphins, and porpoises—through the use of high-intensity mid-frequency sonar,” said Steve Mashuda, an Earthjustice attorney representing the groups. “The Fisheries Service fell down on the job and failed to require the Navy to take reasonable and effective actions to protect them.”
The Navy uses a vast area of the West Coast for training activities including anti-submarine warfare exercises involving tracking aircraft and sonar; surface-to-air gunnery and missile exercises; air-to-surface bombing exercises; sink exercises; and extensive testing for several new weapons systems... > more

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> Read the fact sheet: "West Coast Marine Life and the Navy’s NW Training Range"

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Canadian sonar in U.S. waters

The frigate HMCS Ottawa

"First there were 4 detections of explosive sounds"

A growing coalition of scientists, educators, and citizens are working together to expand a regional hydrophone network in the Salish Sea. This site is part of the SeaSound Project of The Whale Museum and is an experiment in sharing real-time underwater sound. The goals are to monitor the critical habitat of endangered southern resident killer whales to detect orca sounds and measure ambient noise levels.

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Orcasound.net Hydrophone Network

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see also

LFAS.net Low Frequency Active Sonar Network

Beaked Whales Respond to Simulated and Actual Navy Sonar | NOAA Fisheries Service’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC)

SURTASS LFA: "The Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS) Low Frequency Active (LFA) is a long range surveillance sonar the U.S. Navy needs for national security."

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whats more: whale story

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Walrus Disease Investigation | seals update

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presence of ulcerative skin lesions might be associated with a suspected disease agent which appears to be affecting other seal species in the region - radiation investigated as cause

Walrus on Togiak National Wildife Refuge
Photo Credit: Bill Hickey/USFWS

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see also:
• whats up: update on diseased seals: Preliminary Assessment of Radionuclide Exposure (Feb 17)

No radiation levels were found in these samples that would directly cause the symptoms seen in the pinnipeds. Test results show radiation levels are within the typical background range for Alaska.

- note: this is regarding direct causation - i am still wondering whether Fukushima's radioactive plume could be affecting the seals, walruses and possibly whales. i have heard no news on the whale deaths beyond that a determination was made that it was not caused by human activity (?)

• what next: UPDATE re: Deaths of ringed seals in Alaska (Jan 21)
• more background at what next: Deaths of ringed seals in Alaska | Fukushima | Fish Eaters | Nanuuq's Prey: Ice Seals (Jan 17)

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In August 2011 a large herd of Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) hauled out onto a barrier island near the coastal community of Point Lay, Alaska. Some of the walruses at the haulout site were reported to have bleeding skin lesions, and a ground-based survey confirmed the presence of ulcerative skin lesions on several walrus carcasses and some of the live animals.

Alaska Marine Science Symposium poster (January 2012)

The cause(s) and significance of the skin lesions are currently unknown. Most walruses exhibiting skin lesions appeared to be otherwise healthy. One hypothesis under investigation is that the skin lesions observed in walruses at the Point Lay site might be associated with a suspected disease agent which appears to be affecting other seal species in the region.

In December 2011 the Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events (WGMMUME) determined that an “Unusual Mortality Event” (UME) involving multiple species of pinnipeds is occurring in the Arctic. A UME is defined as: "a stranding that is unexpected; involves a significant die-off of any marine mammal population; and demands immediate response..."

...The primary species involved in the mortality event has been ringed seals (Phoca hispida); however other species of arctic pinnipeds, including walrus have exhibited similar symptoms. As part of the UME investigation process, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be working with the WGMMUME and an Inter-agency response team to investigate factors contributing to the observed symptoms.

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more > Alaska Region - Marine Mammals Management

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more

whats up: update on diseased seals: Preliminary Assessment of Radionuclide Exposure (Feb 17)

Summary of findings: Scientists have conducted preliminary qualitative screening of a few tissue samples from both healthy and sick pinnipeds (ice seals and walruses) involved in this UME for possible radionuclide exposure. No radiation levels were found in these samples that would directly cause the symptoms seen in the pinnipeds. Test results show radiation levels are within the typical background range for Alaska.

what next: UPDATE re: Deaths of ringed seals in Alaska (Jan 21)

what next: Deaths of ringed seals in Alaska | Fukushima | Fish Eaters | Nanuuq's Prey: Ice Seals (Jan 17)

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Navy Training Blasts Marine Mammals With Harmful Sonar

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Wildlife Protection Agency Challenged for Not Doing Its Job

Low Frequency Active Sonar spectogram

SAN FRANCISCO— A coalition of conservation and American Indian groups today sued the National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to protect thousands of whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea lions from U.S. Navy warfare training exercises along the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.

Earthjustice, representing InterTribal Sinkyone Wilderness Council, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, Friends of the San Juans, Natural Resources Defense Council and People For Puget Sound, today filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Northern California challenging the Fisheries Service’s approval of the Navy’s training activities in its Northwest Training Range Complex. The lawsuit calls on the agency to mitigate anticipated harm to marine mammals and biologically critical areas within the training range that stretches from Northern California to the Canadian border.

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Navy Training Blasts Marine Mammals With Harmful Sonar | Center for Biological Diversity

Earthjustice: Environmental Law: Because the Earth Needs a Good Lawyer | Earthjustice

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for more see what next: whales - PBS | US Navy | whale story

Spectrogram of Humpback Whale vocalizations

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Oceans, Whales & Seafood | Greenpeace

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Help protect marine life

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Greenpeace Oceans Campaign

All around the world, our oceans are in crisis. Three quarters of global fish stocks are suffering from overfishing and 90% of top marine predators are already gone.

Destructive fishing practices destroy critical ocean habitats, pirate fishing harms global fish stocks and as the ocean becomes more vulnerable—it will succumb more quickly to the harmful effects of global warming.

Whale slaughter continues to put endangered species at risk and pollution from land-based sources is turning the oceans into a dumping ground.

Ocean advocates must work harder than ever to chart a new, sustainable course for the oceans before it’s too late. Over the next three years Greenpeace will:

1. Continue to change seafood choices made at a wholesale level by working with supermarket retailers to make sustainable seafood the only choice available.

2. Convince governments and the United Nations that marine reserves are critical to the oceans' future—especially to advocate for setting aside 40% of the world’s oceans as marine reserves.

3. Ensure that the Obama administration uses their diplomatic leverage to close the loopholes and end all commercial whaling.

We’ve made significant progress to turn the tide towards ocean conservation, but a lot more needs to be done in a short time. By working together, we can save the oceans.

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What we focus on

Whale Defenders

A few countries, namely Japan, Norway and Iceland, continue to ignore a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling—every year they kill thousands of whales to feed a black market of illegal whale meat.

For more than 40 years Greenpeace has been at the forefront of this evolving fight to end this needless slaughter of one the most magnificent creatures on the planet. Read more

Bering Witness

The waters of the Bering Sea-—between Alaska and Russia— are a rich marine environment that’s home to a diverse array of wildlife. Polar bears, seals, sea lions, walruses, whales and millions of seabirds make their home here.

The Bering Sea is also one of the most productive fishing spots in the world. But, the fragile ecosystem cannot sustain this level of commercial fishing without paying a price.

Seafood

The problems taxing the ocean resources translate directly into what's available at the seafood counter. As consumers demand for fish grows, destructive fishing and aquaculture continues to increase to meet the demand.

Marine Reserves

In order to protect the world’s oceans, portions have to be left alone. That’s where marine reserves come into the picture. A marine reserve is like putting a giant “Do Not Disturb” sign around an area of the ocean. These protected areas are so important to the future of our oceans—giving wildlife a safe haven free from danger.

Wildlife Facts

Our oceans are home to some of the most magnificent and unusual creatures on Earth. In the beautiful waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands, many species from around the globe congregate, while some species exist here, and nowhere else on Earth. Discover for yourself the wonders that lie beneath the surface.

Tuna

Tuna is one of the world's favorite fish. It provides a critical part of the diet for millions of people, as well as being at the core of the world's luxury sashimi markets. But, did you know that globally tuna stocks are under threat?

Our appetite for tuna is pushing the fish closer and closer to extinction. As more and more people consume tuna there has been a surge in the number and capacity of tuna-fishing vessels across the world.

Oceans Reports

A breakdown of ocean related reports, publications, images and news.

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Oceans, Whales & Seafood. Help protect marine life | Greenpeace

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