The following open letter was sent today to Governmental and Naval leaders on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. As of 3/11/2012 it has been signed by 20 biologists and bioacousticians who have studied the killer whales of the Salish Sea. (When sent initially, 16 had signed).
To:
- The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, National Defence Headquarters ( dnd_mdn@forces.gc.ca )
- Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy ( ray.mabus@navy.mil )
- Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Administrator, Office of the Undersecretary, US Department of Commerce ( jane.lubchenco@noaa.gov )
- The Honorable Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State ( clintonhr@state.gov )
Subject:
Silence Sonar in the Salish Sea
As biologists and bioacousticians who study killer whales of the Salish Sea, we ask that the U.S. Navy and Canadian Navy cease using sonar in their critical habitat. Polluting their environment with intense underwater noise like the “pings” from mid-frequency active sonar poses significant risks to these Federally-listed species.
On February 6, 2012, the Canadian Naval frigate HMCS Ottawa used its sonar system in critical habitat of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales during a training exercise east of Victoria, B.C. The calls of the Southern Residents’ K and L pods were heard 18 hours later in Haro Strait, and sub-groups of K and L pods were identified 36 hours after the sonar use in Discovery Bay – a location where Southern Residents have never been sighted in 22 years of records. These observations are reminiscent of an incident in May, 2003, when the USS Shoup’s sonar training exercise caused similar unusual nearshore surface milling behavior of Southern Residents in Haro Strait.
New limits should be put on the use of mid-frequency active (MFA) sonar, particularly in the critical habitat of the Southern Residents. Killer whales are sensitive to the frequencies emitted by MFA sonar (2-10 kHz) and use the same frequency range to communicate with calls and whistles. Because MFA sonar is intense (source levels ~220-235 underwater decibels), it could permanently or temporarily deafen whales that are unexpectedly nearby and thereby impact their ability to forage, navigate, and socialize. Even temporary threshold shifts could be deleterious because the recovery of the Southern Residents hinges on their use of echolocation to find, identify, and acquire their primary prey, Pacific salmon.
Current procedures for mitigating underwater military noise are inadequate to protect either the resident or transient ecotypes. These procedures depend on the ability to detect whales within 1000 yards (U.S.) or 4000 yards (Canada), which neither passive acoustic listening nor visual surveillance can reliably accomplish. The unprecedented sighting of Southern Residents in Discovery Bay suggests that they may have been present during the pre-dawn sonar exercise on February 6 while remaining undetected by the Canadian Navy’s marine mammal monitoring procedures. Moreover, we know from the 2003 Shoup incident and the scientific literature that MFA sonar can disrupt marine mammal behavior well beyond the current mitigation distances, particularly in the sound propagation conditions of the Salish Sea.
We therefore urge the U.S. and Canadian Navies to restrict MFA sonar and other intense underwater sound sources in all training and testing conducted in the Salish Sea. By protecting the whales’ acoustic habitat, our Navies can help further their respective country’s obligations to ensure the recovery of these endangered iconic populations while still fulfilling their important National security missions.
Signed (alphabetically):
- David Bain, Ph.D
- Robin Baird, Research Biologist, Cascadia Research Collective
- Stefan Bråger, Research Director/Curator, The Whale Museum
- John Calambokidis, Research Biologist, Cascadia Research Collective
- Fred Felleman, Vice-President, Board of Directors, The Whale Museum
- Andrew Foote, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Deborah Giles, MSc, PhD Candidate/Research Biologist, UC Davis
- Rachael Griffin, B.Sc. Marine Biology, Aquagreen Marine Research, Victoria, BC
- Erin Heydenreich, Field Biologist, Senior staff at the Center for Whale Research
- Cara Lachmuth, MSc., Contract Biologist, Victoria, BC
- Patrick Miller, Lecturer, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Scotland
- Joseph Olson, President, Cetacean Research Technology
- Richard Osborne, Ph.D., Research Associate, The Whale Museum
- Paul Spong, Director, OrcaLab and Pacific Orca Society, Alert Bay, BC
- Helena Symonds, Director, OrcaLab and Pacific Orca Society, Alert Bay, BC
- Scott Veirs, President, Beam Reach Marine Science and Sustainability School
- Val Veirs, Professor of Physics, Colorado College
- Monika Wieland, BA in Biology, Reed College
- Jason Wood, Ph.D., Research Associate, The Whale Museum
- Harald Yurk, Research Associate, Vancouver Aquarium
The following recipients were copied on the email:
- Senator Patty Murray
- Senator Maria Cantwell
- Representative Norm Dicks
- Representative Jay Inslee
- Governor Chris Gregoire
- Will Stelle, NOAA NW Regional Administer
- Lynne Barre, NOAA NW Regional Office
- Brad Hason, NOAA NWFSC
- Dr. John Ford, DFO
- Admiral Cecil D. Haney, Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet
- Rear Admiral Douglass T. Biesel, Commander Navy Region Northwest
- Renee Wallis, Navy Region NW
- Lieutenant Diane Larose, Canadian Navy Public Affairs
Regional “Points of Contact” (POCs) for further information:
Admiral Cecil D. Haney
Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet
cpf.webmaster@navy.mil
(808) 471-9727
Rear Admiral Douglass T. Biesel
Commander Navy Region Northwest
douglass.biesel@navy.mil
(360) 396-1630
Lieutenant Diane Larose
Navy Public Affairs
diane.larose2@forces.gc.ca
(250) 363-5789