Clearly a thorough investigation is called for. In the meantime this illegal harassment must cease. Active IHAs should be suspended and no more issued until this issue is resolved.
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Ms. Linowes says a recent sound study conducted by Rand Acoustics of the high decibel noise levels at wind survey sites finds that sonar mapping produces much louder sounds than offshore wind developers are reporting to government regulators. This would make the area in which whales could be injured by the noise much larger than is currently being monitored. “We believe this is a major factor behind the recent spate of whale deaths in the Atlantic Ocean.”
In May, Robert Rand, a leading echo sound expert, detected high-decibel sonar approximately 43 nautical miles east of Barnegat Light that did not match the equipment cited in the incidental take permit, prompting a comprehensive look at additional expired and active IHAs, Linowes said. Those reviews “revealed a regular pattern of NMFS accepting Level B harassment distances that are well under those expected. .Inadequate mitigations during a sonar survey could result in marine mammals experiencing sound levels that may injure or kill. The record suggests that NMFS has not conducted independent monitoring of the active sonar surveys in the field.”