WASHINGTON – Today, The HSUS sent a strongly worded letter of
concern to both the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
and the Navy Department regarding Naval live bombing exercises
taking place adjacent to right whale critical habitat in waters
off the Northeastern U.S. The HSUS is urging them to halt the
bombing and move the exercises to an area where they will not
harm endangered whales.
On June 10, a NMFS aerial survey crew discovered the
headless carcass of a right whale calf just to the north of the
area designated as critical habitat for the endangered species.
The HSUS has since learned that the U.S. Navy has been
conducting bombing exercises near an area known as Sharrer
Ridge, only approximately 50 miles north of critical habitat
and 60 miles northeast of Cape Cod.
North Atlantic right whales are one of the world’s most
critically endangered species. Only approximately 300 animals
remain and the population has been experiencing an overall
decline. International and national scientific bodies have
urged strict protection of the remaining population of right
whales. Fisheries that entangle right whales are required to
use risk reduction measures and the NMFS regularly issues
alerts to shippers to warn of recent right whale sighting near
shipping lanes. The most rigorous protection of the animals in
the U.S. occurs in the areas surrounding their three critical
habitats. Two of the critical habitats are in the waters near
Massachusetts, where right whales are found feeding in
substantial numbers in the late winter, spring, and early
summer prior to heading north to critical habitat in
Canada.
This incident is similar to one that occurred in January and
February of 1996, when several right whales were found dead off
the coast of Florida and Georgia near their critical habitat in
the Southeast. At the time, the Navy was conducting live fire
bombing exercises just outside of the critical habitat. No
additional deaths occurred after the Navy moved the exercise
area.
Dr. John W. Grandy, Senior Vice President of Wildlife
Programs for The HSUS stated, “The Endangered Species Act
requires that federal agencies consult with one another when
they are engaging in activities that may adversely affect
endangered species. We were alarmed to learn that the Navy did
not take these steps to prevent the possible impacts on
endangered whales from this sort of Naval activity.”
In addition to right whales, the Gulf of Maine is an
important seasonal feeding area for endangered humpback whales
and fin whales, which have been sighted recently in and near
the areas where bombing has occurred.
“It’s a big ocean,” said Sharon Young, Marine Issues Field
Director for The HSUS “The Gulf of Maine is an important
seasonal feeding and nursery area for whales. Surely there is a
way that the U.S. Navy can avoid putting endangered whales at
risk while completing their mission.”
