Appeal To Halt The Use Of LFAS By The US Navy

Details

Created on Saturday, 31 January 2004 12:43

We request a moratorium on the use of the Low Frequency Active Sonar (LFAS) by the US Navy near the coast of Japanese archipelago as such use may seriously harm the marine ecology in the area.

Signed:

Background: A US federal court decided, on August 26, 2003, to issue a permanent injunction baning the use of LFAS by the US Navy over 40% of the Pacific Ocean. But this ruling only limited the area where this device can be used, use in other areas is still allowed.

The LFAS was developed during the cold-war period. The sonar wave, called the low frequency active sonar, is emitted from a ship at a very high sound level of 215 decibels. It is used to detect silent submarines. The court instructed the Navy to consult environmental groups such as Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) concerning the areas where the LFAS may be used. Following this consultation, most of the ocean areas except the sea around Japan, Korea and China were excluded from use of the LFAS. This decision itself is unacceptable for us in Japan.

Furthermore, a November 24 move by the Bush administration overruled this court decision and virtually removed all restrictions regarding the use of the LFAS by making the US military exempt from the regulations of the Endangered Species Protection Act and the Marine Mammals Protection Act. This is outrageous and totally unacceptable.

Reason to oppose the use of LFAS: The LFAS is extremely powerful and may be harmful to marine ecosystem. The law suit resulting in the above federal court decision was based upon this fear. Especially, the noise sensitive whales may become victims as shown by a report in Nature, published in 1998, showing that the death of thirteen whales stranded in the Mediterranean in 1996 was caused by the nearby sonar experiment by NATO. An experiment by the US Navy in Hawaii, in 1998, also showed that a much less powerful LFAS caused humpback whales to abandon their breeding areas. Death by stranding of whales and dolphins in 2001 near the Bahama Islands, and a more recent fatal stranding of whales near the Canary Islands are also considered to be caused by the use of sonar.

For us in Japan surrounded by sea the marine ecosystem is a most essential treasure. Our culture is inseparable from the marine life. The dugongs in Okinawa, which are on the verge of extinction, dolphins, whales, sea-turtles and fish may be the first victims if the LFAS is used near our coast lines. The use of the LFAS in waters near the US goes against the federal court ruling as it is too dangerous to the marine ecosystem. Use in our waters carries similar risks and requires the same protection. We in Japan can never agree to the use of LFAS anywhere and strongly request a halt to its use.