Utilizing Pro-bono Commercial Assets for Marine Mammal Surveys in a High Naval Activity Area in Hawaiian Waters
Abstract
The waters surrounding the State of Hawaii are high U.S. Navy activity regions and include 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 lawsuits 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 obtain important information on the abundance and distributions of marine mammals in the high Navy activity area of Hawaii. The cost of negative encounters with marine mammals is disproportionately high in terms of negative publicity and lawsuits so it would be prudent to take steps to increase the odds against any encounters. Basic information on the biology, natural history, and behavior of dolphins and whales that frequent waters of high Navy activities are needed. Marine mammal surveys around the Hawaiian Islands have been infrequent and localized. The goal of this project was 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 Shipping Company, Hawaii s largest interisland shipping company. Young Brothers offered to participate by allowing us to board their tugboats and use our acoustic instruments to collect data, on a pro-bono basis. The goal was to establish a robust database of information that currently does not exist in the deep waters between islands.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA573306
Entities
People
- Marc O. Lammers
- Whitlow W. Au