NOAA hasn’t answered our hard questions about sonar. So we’re following up.
On September 8th, we wrote to Richard Spinrad, director of NOAA, to draw his attention to Save Right Whales’ analysis of the Rand Acoustics report, which found sonar at levels well above permitted levels in New Jersey waters this May.
In the September 8th letter, we argued that there has been a complete breakdown in the system designed to protect marine wildlife and protect the North Atlantic right whale from extinction. We cc’ed President Biden, as well as leaders of the key government agencies and major environmental NGOs to request emergency action by NMFS and BOEM, beginning with the immediate revocation of currently active harassment authorizations. weeks later, NOAA hasn’t even bothered to res
But NMFS spokesperson Katie Wagner this morning told the Staten Island Advance, “These predictive thresholds, which are available online, are not regulatory requirements but provide important insight into the regulatory process as developers propose and NOAA Fisheries considers approving specific measures to ensure that the project has no more than a negligible impact on marine mammal population.”
In our initial letter, we pointed out that NMFS did not follow its own guidance for determining sonar sounds levels at the source. They approved IHAs using sonar specs that didn't match the actual equipment or the manufacturer's specs. If the sonar is much louder than permitted, this means the safety distances in the IHAs aren't really keeping marine mammals safe. They're likely getting too close to the sonar. Ms. Wagner's comments don't address this important issue.
