Thursday, February 04, 2010
North Atlantic Right Whales
The National Marine Fisheries Service refuses to sign off on the U.S. Navy’s plans to inadvertently kill whales as part of weapons testing. The agency’s refusal to go along with the planned use of explosives at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division comes even after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of naval activities that environmentalists have fought against. Federal law requires the Navy to seek permission from the National Marine Fisheries Service when it conducts testing that could adversely impact sea life.
Meanwhile, another lawsuit has been filed against the Navy over its plan to build a $100 million Undersea Warfare Training Range next to the only known breeding ground for the North Atlantic right whale, an endangered species.
“Right whales shouldn’t be subjected to the threats that accompany this range—ship strikes, entanglement and noise disturbance—in the only place in the world where vulnerable females give birth to and care for their calves,” Catherine Wannamaker, an attorney with Southern Environmental Law Center, told Courthouse News Service. “While we recognize the Navy’s need to train, there are ways to accommodate that need without introducing multiple risks of harm into such a sensitive area.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Administration Agency Gives Supreme Court Poke in Eye on Military Tests Killing Whales (by Bill Girdner and Travis Sanford, Courthouse News Service)
Groups Sue Navy to Save Right Whale (by Jacqueline Holness, Courthouse News Service)
Defenders of Wildlife et al. v. U.S. Navy et al. (U.S. District Court, Southern District of Georgia) (pdf)
Navy Asks Permission to Harass Whales (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)
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