[Green-Activist] What of the "safe" Aussie waters for our whales?

[Anne Goddard]

FW: Article: Navies to watch out for whales
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Peace Convergence 
To: ts-07discussion at peaceconvergence.com 
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 1:21 PM
Subject: [TS-07discussion] FW: Article: Navies to watch out for whales


Navies to watch out for whales
The Australian
    * Selina Mitchell
    * June 08, 2007

WHALE sightings could shut down key US-Australia war games being held off
the Queensland and Northern Territory coasts this month.

Acknowledging concerns about the potential effects of naval mid-frequency
sonar devices on whales and dolphins, the two defence forces will shut
down transmissions if any of the mammals are sighted.

The International Whaling Commission has warned that the biennial joint
military exercise, known as Talisman Sabre, could injure or kill whales
and dolphins.

Green groups are calling for the military to stop their use of the
submarine-hunting sonar, saying it can result in hearing loss, tissue
damage, strandings and death.

This year Talisman Sabre involves more than 20,000 US and 7500 Australian
forces working on about 125 aircraft and 30 vessels. Field training will
take place from June 19 to July 2.

A spokesman for Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the US and
Australian defence forces would avoid areas known to be frequented by
whales and dolphins.

They would also maintain whale lookouts and have a gradual increase in the
power output of sonar transmissions to avoid sudden disturbances.

The transmissions will be shut down if a whale or dolphin is sighted
within 3.5km of the vessels.

"Similar precautions were taken during the 2005 Talisman Sabre exercise,"
the spokesman said. "There is no evidence that whales and dolphins were
negatively impacted during that exercise."

Environmentalists say naval sonar can alter diving habits as whales try to
escape the noise. For a deep-diving species such as the beaked whale,
rapid surfacing can result in a fatal case of the bends, they say.

"This is an area where there are beaked whales, and beaked whales have
been sensitive to mid-frequency sonar," IWC scientific committee chairman
Arne Bjorge said at the whaling conference in Anchorage last week.

On its website, Defence says it protects endangered and marine mammals
through a comprehensive framework of risk-mitigation procedures developed
after careful analysis of Defence maritime activities.

In 2002, 15 beaked whales were stranded in the Canary Islands after a NATO
exercise. Scientists found bleeding around the animals' brains and ears
and lesions in their livers and kidneys and suspected sonar was to blame.

In 2000, naval sonar also contributed to 16 whales and two dolphins being
beached in the Bahamas, a US National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration study found.

Additional reporting: AP


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