human interaction

WHOI Right Whale initiative accelerates research

ShareThis[1334] Lippsett, L., "WHOI Right Whale initiative accelerates research", Oceanus, vol. 44, issue 3, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, pp. 16-17, 12/2005. Get PDF:  Full Text.pdf (format PDF / 279 KB)

The situation is urgent: Seventy years after whaling was banned, the North Atlantic right whale population has not recovered. Only 300 to 350 remain, and the species is headed toward extinction.

Supreme court wrestles with whales vs. sonar

ShareThis[1330] Madin, K., "Supreme court wrestles with whales vs. sonar", Oceanus, vol. 47, issue 2, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, pp. 42-43, 09/2009. Get PDF:  Full Text.pdf (format PDF / 2 MB)

Arguments about the impact of Navy sonar on marine mammals rose to the highest court in the land last fall. But not every issue is best settled in court. One source of knowledge related to the case—marine mammal scientists—was essentially left out of the debate.

The U.S. Supreme Court weighed competing interests—“a balance of harms” in legal terms. On one hand is the potential threat to whales from sonar; on the other, the military risk posed by naval forces inadequately trained to use sonar to detect enemy submarines.

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