Judge: Navy Sonar Testing Caused Mass Death of Marine Life

Susanne Posel

US District Court Magistrate Judge Nandor Vadas ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) did not consider scientific data of long-term effects of sonar testing on marine life when permits for the Navy were approved in 2012.

Vadas pointed out the initial review was “improperly focused on a narrow window of time to gauge the potential effects” and that consideration of long-term effects should prompt a reassessment of the continuation of the testing.

In his rule, Vadas wrote: “That is, a series of short-term analyses can mask the long-term impact of an agency action.”

Vadas 43 page opinion found that the user of high intensity noise from sonar pulses used by the US Navy to “pinpoint underwater objects at a distance through the echo they produce – can also disrupt marine mammals’ migration, nursing, breeding and feeding.”

In defense, the Navy claims they conduct testing in open waters off the coast of Washington State by a single warship for less than 2 hours at a time. They maintain that this sonar testing is not a danger to marine life.

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