Naval Sonar-linked Incidents
| “ | Worldwide, use of active sonar has been linked to about 50 marine mammal strandings between 1996 and 2006. In all of these occurrences, there were other contributing factors, such as unusual (steep and complex) underwater geoqraphy, limited egress routes, and a specific species of marine mammal — beaked whales — that are suspected to be more sensitive to sound than other marine mammals. | ” |
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—Rear Admiral Lawrence Rice |
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| Date | Location | Species and Number | Naval Activity | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963-05 | Gulf of Genoa, Italy | Cuvier’s beaked whale (15) stranded | Naval maneuvers | |
| 1988-11 | Canary Islands | Cuvier’s beaked whale (12+) Gervais' beaked whale (1) stranded | FLOTA 88 exercise | |
| 1989-10 | Canary Islands | Cuvier's beaked whale (15+), Gervais' beaked whale (3), Blainville's beaked whale (2) stranded | CANAREX 89 exercise | |
| 1991-12 | Canary Islands | Cuvier's beaked whale (2) stranded | SINKEX 91 exercise | |
| 1996-05-12 | Gulf of Kyparissia, Greece | Cuvier's beaked whale (12) stranded | NATO Shallow Water Acoustic Classification exercise | |
| 1998-07 | Kauai, Hawaii | beaked whale (1), sperm whale (1) stranded | RIMPAC 98 exercise | |
| 1999-10 | U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico | Cuvier’s beaked whale (4) stranded | COMPTUEX exercise | |
| 2000-03-15 | Bahamas | Cuvier’s beaked whale (9), Blainville’s beaked whale (3), beaked whale spp (2), Minke whale (2), Atlantic spotted dolphin (1) stranded | Naval MFA | |
| 2000-05-10 | Madeira | Cuvier’s beaked whale (3) stranded | NATO Linked Seas 2000 and MFA | |
| 2002-09 | Canary Islands | Cuvier’s beaked whale (9), Gervais’ beaked whale (1), Blainville’s beaked whale (1), beaked whale spp. (3) stranded | Neo Tapon 2002 exercise and MFA | |
| 2003-05 | Haro Strait, Washington | Harbor porpoise (14), Dall’s porpoise (1) Orca avoidance “stampede” | U.S.S. Shoup transiting while using MFA (AN/SQS-53C) | |
| 2004-07 | Kauai, Hawaii | Melon-headed whale (~200) avoidance “stampede” | RIMPAC 04 exercise with MFA | |
| 2004-07-22 | Canary Islands | Cuvier’s beaked whale (4) stranded | Majestic Eagle 04 exercise | |
| 2005-10-25 | Marion Bay, Tasmania | Long-finned pilot whales (145) stranded | Two minesweepers using active sonar | |
| 2006-01-26 | Almeira Coast, Spain | Cuvier's beaked whale (4) stranded | HMS Kent using active MF sonar | |
| 2008-06 | Cornwall, UK | Dolphins (26) stranded | Naval exercise but no ship sonar in use except HF hydrographic sonar on HMS Enterprise |
Read more about this topic: Marine Mammals And Sonar
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