NOAA 97-R142

Contact: Gordon Helm, NMFS              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
         Lt. Brenda Malone, USN         6/12/97

NOAA DETERMINES NAVY NOT LIKELY TO JEOPARDIZE PROTECTED MARINE SPECIES;
NAVY MODIFIES OPERATIONS IN SOUTHEAST ATLANTIC TO REDUCE INTERACTIONS

Protective measures proposed by the U.S. Navy have significantly reduced the likelihood of interactions between Navy ships and aircraft with northern right whales and with other protected species, concludes an Endangered Species Act "biological opinion" issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The fisheries service's opinion, released on May 15, addressed the potential effects of Naval operations at sea off the southeast U.S. coast on the endangered and threatened species present there. The opinion concludes that measures adopted by the Navy will help ensure that their activities along the southeast U.S. coast are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any threatened or endangered species. Those species include the northern right whale, humpback whale and other large whales, along with Kemp's ridley, hawksbill, loggerhead and green sea turtles.

The biological opinion is the product of a year-long sustained, cooperative effort involving the National Marine Fisheries Service and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the Navy; and the Marine Mammal Commission. During the process, the Navy provided detailed descriptions of vessel and aircraft operations in the area, including air-dropped ordnance exercises and naval gunnery. The agencies involved then collaborated to identify appropriate locations, times and measures for Navy operations that would ensure species protection while not unduly restricting vital naval training.

"This biological opinion is a landmark event in Navy-NOAA cooperation," said Terry Garcia, acting assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere. "It is based on a genuine concern on the part of the Navy to include environmental protection as a part of their mission and our understanding of the Navy's national security responsibilities. It also shows NOAA's resolve to address the impacts to right whales and a willingness to work with involved parties to find solutions."

"To the maximum extent practicable, we have relocated our operations away from the northern right whale critical habitat off the U.S. southeast coast, and into areas where right whales and other protected species are less likely to be found," said Navy General Counsel Steven S. Honigman. "When we do operate in proximity to these species, we have implemented protective measures to ensure that Navy ships and aircraft detect and avoid the whales. We are committed to acting as responsible stewards of our environment and the marine life with which we share the oceans," he continued.

Among the measures implemented by the Navy:

  1. relocation of bomb drops, naval gunnery and operations that require use of high vessel speeds further away from right whale critical habitat areas;

  2. restrictions on avoidable vessel transits through the right whale critical habitat during the calving season;

  3. posting of an additional lookout when traversing the critical habitat; and

  4. avoidance of sargassum rafts, which may attract juvenile sea turtles, when training with air-dropped ordanance.

In addition, the Navy has established a state-of-the-art real-time system for receiving and relaying reports of right whale locations anywhere within and near the critical habitat. This clearing house will receive reports from all sources -- commercial, governmental and military -- and relay sighting information to Navy ships and to civilian authorities for dissemination to mariners.