HONOLULU: U.S. environmental groups have sued the federal government Wednesday to halt the Navy from using active sonar during maritime exercises planned off Hawaii in July. The groups contend the sound could harm whales and other marine mammals present in large numbers in the region.
A coalition of environmental groups, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a suit filed in a federal court in Los Angeles, sought a temporary restraining order unless the Navy takes effective measures to protect marine life.
More than 40 ships from eight countries are participating in the exercise, known as Rim of the Pacific or RIMPAC, preliminary stages of which began Monday off the islands. The sonar part of the exercise begins after July 4 and lasts three weeks.
Earlier, on Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had granted permission to the Navy to use mid-frequency active sonar in the exercise despite concerns expressed by the environmentalists that it could even kill whales and dolphins.
The administration maintained the exercise would have no significant environmental effect. It also concluded that the use of active sonar was not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of threatened and endangered species, including the Hawaiian monk seal. The ships using the sonar would not be inside the national monument area. Instead, according to the Navy, the sonar would be used in waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands.
The administration declined to comment on the suit. A spokesperson said the agency was confident the Navy's efforts to limit sonar's impact on marine mammals would protect dolphins and whales.
In April, the administration had said the Navy's use of sonar during maritime exercises off Hawaii in 2004 could have contributed to the mass stranding of more than 150 whales in Kauai's Hanalei Bay. The report, however, did not say definitively the sonar caused the whales to gather in the bay.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare, Cetacean Society International and Ocean Futures Society are parties to the lawsuit.
