Navy Requests to "Take" Kill or Strand Marine Mammals 650,000 times

August 17, 2009
By Electronic Mail

Michael Payne, Chief
National Marine Fisheries Service
Permits, Conservation and Education Division
Office of Protected Resources
1313 E – W Hwy
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3225

Re: 0648-AX88 NWTRC request Marine Mammal Take Permit rule change.

Chief Michael Payne:

I submitted 24 pages of comments on the NWTRC EIS/OEIS. 5,300 characters documented Navy’s sonar Taking kills 700 - 4000 endangered marine species a year. Navy expert said new sonar is felt for 300 miles.

Two dead whales near Olympia June 2009 were found after residents felt a pulse (sonar?) that knocked out electricity & locked doors. A sonar test at PSNS locked every car on auto row. In the 1,068 page NWTRC EIS nowhere were effects to shore populations from Puget Sound to San Diego of the Navy’s sonar frequencies going past the littoral mentioned. If 215 decibels of sonar explodes marine mammal brains at 180 decibels what does it do to humans?

NMFS has proposed a rule that would allow the Navy "to take" –harass, injure or kill marine mammals 130,000 times a year for five years for 650,000 acoustic assaults. Even within the 1.3% of the NWTR area that is the Olympic National Marine Mammal Sanctuary. There should be a 300 mile safe zone around the Sanctuary.
Why would you allow this violation? This is contrary to your stated Mission Statement.

There are major stressors on marine mammals: only 1.7 of 13 million sockeye returned to the Fraser River; Carbonic Acid ocean water killed a billion seed oysters and can dissolve salmon and thus marine mammal food sources. Together global warming and Navy sonar could cause mass extinction of marine mammal species.

If the Navy’s request of the “whole mango” is allow by NMFS how will you justify the extinctions? What is your back up plan to recreate marine mammals after they are gone? Please uphold your mission, protect marine mammals and deny the Navy its request for Take permits.

Theresa Marie Gandhi
Educated to protect earth and ocean species for our 7th generation.
P.O. Box 437, Clinton, WA 98236

Attachments: Northwest Training Complex –Comments submitted March 9, 2009
Marine Mammals Deaths and Naval Hubris – submitted March 9, 2009

cc: Rep. Rick Larsen
Senator Maria Cantwell
Senator Patti Murray
Various Media