Sonar used to detect submarines can injure whales, dolphins, seals and walruses and disturb their feeding and mating
Environmentalists and marine mammifèrs advocates welcome this significant step attributed to the Natural Resources Defense Council. This American NGO declared that sonar use authorized since 2012 for a period of 5 years to detect enemy submarines in the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, violated the law of marine protection mammals, a 1972 law aimed at protecting the marine ecosystem.
The regulation adopted by the 2012 National Marine Fisheries Service authorized the use of sonar by the US Navy to allocate each year about 30 whales and two dozen pinnipeds such as seals and sea lions. The US Navy was still required to cut, or at least delay, the use of sonar whether a mammal approaching a ship. The most powerful sonars were not allowed near the coast or marine protected areas.
“A significant proportion of the habitat of marine mammals in the world is under-protected”
La cour d’appel a statué au final que l’autorisation accordée par le gouvernement américain en 2012 a échoué à répondre à un article de la loi de protection exigeant un programme de défense militaire marin en temps de paix ayant “le moins d’impact possible sur les mammifères marins”.
“Le résultat est qu’une proportion significative de l’habitat des mammifères marins du monde est sous-protégée”, selon la décision.
