Utilizing Pro-bono Commercial Assets for Marine Mammal Surveys in High Naval Activity Area in Hawaiian Waters
Abstract
The waters surrounding the State of Hawaii are high U.S. Navy activity regions with the presence of Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, the FORACS (Fleet Operational Readiness and Accuracy Check Site) acoustic range operated by the Hawaii Detachment of NUWC-Newark along the Waianae coast of Oahu, and PMRF (Pacific Missile Range) in the waters off the island of Kauai and the shallow waters of west Maui. Furthermore, the RIMPAC exercises (Rim of Pacific Exercises) that occur on a regular basis involve considerable Naval resources operating close to and within Hawaiian waters. The Pacific Navy is under considerable pressure from environmental groups that have initiated up to five law suits to curtail the Navy's use of active sonar for training. Perhaps the best approach in combating the various environmental concerns expressed in the different lawsuits is to gather scientific data and obtained important information on the abundance and distributions of marine mammals in the high Navy activity area of Hawaii. The ocean is large and the chances of avoiding any interaction with any sizable group of marine mammals are probably much greater than the probability of encountering marine mammals. However, the cost of negative encounters is disproportionately high in terms of negative publicity and law suits so it would be prudent to take steps to increase the odds against any encounters. So we return to the fact that basic information on the biology, natural history, and behavior of dolphins and whales that frequent waters of high Navy activities are needed in order to avoid encounters.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA531242
Entities
People
- Whitlow W. Au