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Navy Agrees to Limit Sonar Testing in Pacific

Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith / Flickr
Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith / Flickr

The US Navy has agreed to limit its use of sonar and explosive training off the coast of Hawai‘i and Southern California that may harm marine life.

A lawsuit filed in 2013 by environmental group Earthjustice challenged the National Marine Fisheries’ five-year permit for testing. 

From a distance - Sonar can disrupt the feeding and communication of marine animals.  Exposure at a closer distance can cause deafness or even death for whales, dolphins and other creatures.  The Navy's plans estimate it could inadvertently kill 155 whales and dolphins off Hawaii and Southern California - mostly from explosives.  It also estimated it could cause more than 11,000 serious injuries off the East Coast and 2,000 off Hawaii and Southern California.

Under the agreement, the Navy will limit sonar and explosive testing in proximity to biologically sensitive areas.  David Henkin is an attorney representing Earth-Justice’s Honolulu office.  He says the agreement shows that the Navy is capable of negotiating an agreement, while continuing to protect the environment. 

The approval covers the next few years of the five-year permit – and will be re-negotiated in 2018. 

Nick Yee’s passion for music developed at an early age, as he collected jazz and rock records pulled from dusty locations while growing up in both Southern California and Honolulu. In college he started DJing around Honolulu, playing Jazz and Bossa Nova sets at various lounges and clubs under the name dj mr.nick. He started to incorporate Downtempo, House and Breaks into his sets as his popularity grew, eventually getting DJ residences at different Chinatown locations. To this day, he is a fixture in the Honolulu underground club scene, where his live sets are famous for being able to link musical and cultural boundaries, starting mellow and building the audience into a frenzy while steering free of mainstream clichés.
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