Sonar used in 70 percent of the world's oceans is probably hurting whales

U.S. Navy sonar breaks marine laws by using sound waves that are significantly stronger than those produced even by the loudest rock bands, a U.S. appeals court ruled. Sonar pulses can harm animals that rely on underwater sound to navigate, such as whales, dolphins, and walruses, BBC reports. Some scientists claim that whales have even been observed fleeing from sonar by swimming hundreds of miles or beaching themselves.

The use of sonar was permitted in 2012, but it had been improperly approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the court ruled. Used across 70 percent of the world's oceans to detect enemy submarines, sonar was permitted for ships to use if they refrained in protected waters, along coastlines, or if a marine mammal was detected nearby. Still, the court ruled that the Navy had not taken enough measures to have "the least practicable adverse impact on marine mammals." Fisheries had additionally failed to "give adequate protection to areas of the world's oceans flagged by its own experts as biologically important."

Navy sonar can create sound waves of 235 decibels; about 150 decibels is the threshold for eardrum rupture in humans. The case will be sent back to lower courts for further consideration.

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