"We want to ensure that the U.S. Navy and its partner navies get the benefit of this opportunity to train in anti-submarine warfare," he said.
This year about 19,000 service men and women from eight countries are participating in the Navy's Rim of the Pacific exercise, the world's largest international maritime training event.
Monumental Buffer
The agreement between the Navy and the NRDC, reached on Friday, also prevents the use of sonar within 25 nautical miles (29 miles/46 kilometers) of the new Northwestern Hawaiian Island Marine National Monument.
(See photos of animals in the new Hawaiian marine monument.)
The monument includes a 1,200-mile-long (1,930-kilometer-long) chain of relatively undisturbed island and coral-reef habitat that is home to more than 7,000 species.
This was an important victory, Hinerfeld says, because it underscores "the schizophrenic approach of the federal government."
He says that two weeks after the U.S. government identified the area as delicate, significant, and worth protecting, the Department of Defense issued an exemption allowing the Navy to blast it with powerful sonar.
"We need to have a coherent policy about protecting the oceans against this very dangerous technology," he said.
Navy spokesperson Capt. Jill Votaw countered that sonar exercises were never scheduled to take place in or near the monument.
Powerful Sound
Mid-frequency sonar used during training exercises can emit continuous sound well above 235 decibels—an intensity roughly comparable to a rocket blastoff, according to NRDC.
That's a problem for marine mammals and other aquatic animals, say experts, since sound is their primary means of learning about their habitat, communicating, and navigating.
Before the exercises began, the Navy agreed to an extensive list of safety measures suggested by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service.
Those safety measures include:
• training all participants in marine-mammal awareness;
• using infrared light to detect mammals during low-visibility conditions; and
• setting the sonar at the lowest level, except during short periods of time
NRDC has another lawsuit pending against the Navy over its general use of mid-frequency sonar. About 160 ships in the Navy's fleet are equipped with mid-frequency sonar, but military officials say it's only turned on during training and maintenance activities.
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