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. The waters surrounding the State of Hawaii are high U.S. Navy activity regions. 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. Marine mammal surveys around the Hawaiian Islands have been sparse and localized. The goal of this project is to perform regular, but relatively inexpensive acoustic surveys in the deep waters between Oahu and Hawaii and Oahu and Kauai on a seasonal basis using the assets of the Young Brothers Company, the largest inter-island shipper in Hawaii. Young Brothers have offered to participate with us by allowing us to board their tugs and use our acoustic instruments to collect data, on a pro-bono basis. We hope to establish a robust database of information that currently does not exist in the deep waters between islands. The objective of this study is to map the distribution and abundance of whales and dolphins in the deep waters between the island of Oahu and Hawaii and the island of Oahu and Kauai.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA541832
Entities
People
- Whitlow W. Au