Posted on September, 27 2002

WWF-Spain yesterday protested against military manoeuvres at sea that disturb cetaceans (whales, porpoises, and dolphins). The incident of 24 September, where 15 beaked whales from 3 different species became stranded on the coasts of the Canary Islands during NATO exercises in the area involving many ships and submarines, is not the first time that Spain's Ministry of Defence has been confronted with a cetacean incident. WWF has asked the Ministry of Defence to ensure that similar events do not happen again. Many whales and dolphins depend on sound for their navigation and communication, and all toothed cetaceans use echolocation to catch their food. The negative effects of high levels of underwater noise, for example noise from intensive marine traffic, on these species have been known for a long time. A report released by WWF-Spain last year documented that the low frequency sonar used by NATO and US navies to detect the motors of nuclear submarines was causing serious problems for cetaceans. In 1996, there was a massive beaching of Cuvier's beaked whales in Greece during testing of this type of device. According to Jose Luis Garci'a Twigs, in charge of the marine programme at WWF-Spain: "This species is especially sensitive to low frequency sonar, and the strandings in the Canary Islands indicate that military manoeuvres were being undertaken with the presence of submarines. Clearly the manoeuvres were testing these kinds of low frequency devices." Cuvier's beaked whales are protected by a number of international treaties. According to Garci'a Twigs, "It is not acceptable that efforts for the conservation of this species are thrown overboard because of one-off actions that would be easy to avoid". In a letter sent to Spain's Minister of Defence, WWF-Spain has asked for: • The cease of the current military manoeuvres. • The banning of military manoeuvres in areas with a permanent cetaceans presence. • The evaluation of previous environmental impacts of this type of marine exercise. • The banning of military location methods that can impact cetaceans, until the repercussions on these species are known. • The opening of an independent investigation into the death of these cetaceans, with the results made public. "The Ministry of Defence must give answers to the demands of society that, more and more, gives a value to the necessity to conserve our seas. The Minister should also recognize that this is part of the role of his Ministry and the activities it undertakes," added Garci'a Twigs. "It is not reasonable that the army receives an exemption from the integration of environmental issues into governmental policies." For further information: Miguel A. Valladares Communications Director, WWF-Spain E-mail: mavalladares@wwf.es