After Deaths Of Two Whales Off SoCal Coast, Navy Agrees To Review Training Exercises

Published Jul 17, 2021 11:23 AM

The top of a fin whale breaks the surface of the water with a sail boat in the background.

Keep up with LAist.

If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.

The U.S. Navy has agreed to review how their training exercises impact on endangered whales that live off the coasts of Southern California and Hawaii. The decision comes after two dead fin whales, a mother and calf, were found stuck to the hull of an Australian destroyer in May. That ship was conducting joint training with the U.S. Navy off San Diego.

In response, the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group, told the Navy they planned to sue. The federal government has recorded a few dozen whale strikes off the California coast from 2018 to 2020, but scientists believe that's an undercount.

Kristen Monsell, a lawyer for the group, says the Navy should also consider how its specialized technology can harm marine animals in other ways.

"The explosions and sonar used in their activities are incredibly harmful to marine mammals," she said. "These animals rely on hearing for essential behaviors like feeding and breeding and if they can't hear, they can't survive."

Support for LAist comes from

Become a sponsor

Monsell says she's encouraged by the Navy's decision to evaluate these activities, and hopes it leads to changes like slower ship speeds and restrictions on sonar and explosives.

Naval training exercises have been protested for years by environmental groups who point out that even under current agreements, the Navy concedes that thousands of injuries to marine mammals are likely to occur each year.