A Supreme Court ruling today regarding harm to whales and other
marine mammals caused by the US Navy's use of mid-frequency
active sonar off the California coast will have no immediate
affect on a similar Earthjustice effort to protect whales in
Hawai’i. The high court struck down two of six mitigation
measures imposed by a California federal district court intended
to protect whales and dolphins from the harmful affects of mid-
frequency sonar during Navy training exercises. The Navy uses
the sonar to detect diesel-electric submarines. The Court's
ruling is narrowly tailored to the specifics of the California
case and affects only certain provisions of the district court's
injunction. A preliminary injunction issued by federal district
judge David A. Ezra in Hawai’i earlier this year forcing the
Navy to take protective steps in the use of sonar there has
successfully provided protection for whales, and likely will
continue to do so notwithstanding the Supreme Court's decision.
The US Navy blasts the sonar at