Sonar Testing
One 2-week sonar test permanently injures the hearing of 450 whales
Control sought for sonar tests
Sonar detects submarine activity and prevents intrusions into U.S. waters. The Navy's sonar exercises emit sounds that affect the way various types of marine life communicate, find food, and navigate through the water and cause injury or death to hundreds of whales and dolphins.
In 2007, the Navy's use of sonar testing in waters off the coast of California was banned, but in January 2008, President Bush gave the Navy an exemption. Animal rights activists persisted, and a Federal judge ruled that the Navy must follow environmental laws with strict limits on sonar testing, which includes a list of 29 measures for the protection of whales and other marine mammals from the harm caused by sonar exercises.
