Resolution for Moratorium on Sonar Approved by Marin County

The Resolution emphasizes that high-intensity active sonar endangers our ocean ecosystem, including the Marin coast. The sound created by these sonar systems is a danger to whales and dolphins, as well as our fishing industries. This noise pollution could have disastrous economic and environmental consequences. Recent evidence links whale and dolphin mass strandings and deaths with U.S. Navy active sonar exercises. The Navy would like to have no restrictions on the use of active sonar, despite the growing international concern and mounting scientific evidence that ocean noise pollution is threatening marine life. Resolutions calling for a moratorium on active sonar have already been passed by San Francisco, Maui, Hilo, and the European Union. International coalitions are also sending petitions to NATO and the UN.

To review a copy of the Marin resolution, visit:
http://www.seaflow.org/downloads/marinresolution.pdf

An accompanying fact sheet can be accessed at:
http://www.seaflow.org/downloads/MarinResolutionFACTsheet.pdf

Many thanks to the crowd of enthusiastic individuals who showed up for the hearing to lend support. We will keep you posted with plans to take this resolution to other municipalities in Marin and the state. Please let us know if you would like to help with this effort. We are looking for contacts with civic leaders in other California cities and counties who might be interested in introducing similar resolutions.



Here is a Marin Independent Journal news story on the success.

http://www.seaflow.org/article.php?id=296

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Marin Independent Journal
County supports ban on military use of sonar
By Keri Brenner
IJ reporter


Wednesday, April 13, 2005 - sonar

Loud ocean noise caused by military sonar devices should be prohibited until research proves it safe to whales and other marine life, the Marin Board of Supervisors said yesterday.

The board voted unanimously to oppose the U.S. Department of Defense's use of high-intensity active sonar "unless and until scientific evidence clearly and independently establishes that no harmful effects on the marine environment will result," according to a resolution adopted by the board.

About 60 members of Seaflow, a Sausalito-based nonprofit focused on the growing threat of ocean noise pollution, cheered the board's action.

"People think the ocean's silent, but it's not," said Michael Stocker, Seaflow's science adviser. "Most sea animals perceive acoustic energy."

Stocker said shipping noise was once the prime problem in the ocean. But now, he said, military use of sonar devices is causing large beachings of whales and dolphins - such as one last month in Key Largo, Florida, where 70 creatures died.

"These digital signals actively damage and confuse these animals," Stocker said.

Supervisor Charles McGlashan, who proposed the resolution to the county board, said the noise pollution could affect Marin's economy by causing declines in fisheries and deterioration of an environment that draws both tourists and residents.

"The health of marine mammals and the fisheries off our coast is critical to our quality of life and the maintenance of our vibrant, visitor-driven economy," McGlashan said. "Collateral damage in our oceans is unacceptable."

McGlashan added the noise of sonar is more intense than when space shuttle takes off.

A shuttle launch is about 180 decibels, while the Navy says its sonar arrays are capable of producing more than 215 decibels.

Besides shipping and sonar, another cause of ocean noise is pile driving, said Robert Abbott, a fisheries scientist and consultant to the California Department of Transportation. The louder the noise is, the more likely it is to cause severe damage in fish and marine animals, such as burst organs and blown out eardrums.

"If the noise is too loud, it's like a very bright light shining in your eyes - you can't see, and they can't hear," Abbott said. "That makes them vulnerable to predators."

Supervisor Steve Kinsey, who serves on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, noted that he worked with Abbott in designing a solution for pile driving at the new Benicia bridge. The engineers designed a containment chamber that surrounded the pile driving to keep the noise down, Kinsey said.

"It begins with a commitment to protect the species," Kinsey said.

Similar resolutions have been passed in San Francisco; Hilo and Maui, Hawaii; and in Europe, said Seaflow board member Rona Weintraub of Mill Valley.

"Ocean noise is a doable fix," Weintraub said. "When it comes to the environment, everything important starts on a local level."

The resolution, which is advisory only, also was endorsed by eight area environmental groups, including Sierra Club Marin Group and Environmental Action Committee of West Marin.