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Science 5 May 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5774, p. 671
DOI: 10.1126/science.312.5774.671c
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ScienceScope

Submarine sonar was "a plausible, if not likely" cause of the harm suffered by whales during a 2004 incident that stranded more than 150 melon-headed whales off the shore of Kaua'i, Hawai'i, an investigation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has concluded. The U.S. Navy says it's unknown what caused the incident, but they reject NOAA's interpretation. One calf died in the episode, despite local canoeists' efforts to herd the whales away from the beach.

Using time-stamped maps of joint U.S. and Japanese submarine exercises under way during the nearby Rim of the Pacific Exercises (RIMPAC), NOAA determined that the whales could have been within hearing range, and the report ruled out algal blooms or other natural causes. Now NOAA is considering a Navy request to authorize this year's RIMPAC; NOAA official Brandon Southall said that the incident will be part of the "range of information" that the agency uses to make its decision. The Navy has promised new mitigation measures during the event, but activists want NOAA to force it to turn its sonar volume down, avoid islands, and switch sonar off while traveling between exercise sites.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)