War of the Whales: A True Story

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War of the Whales: A True Story Page 48

by Joshua Horwitz


  strandings posted on, 72, 252, 253

  Martin, David, 245–46, 270

  Martin, Ricky, 139

  Massachusetts General Hospital, whale heads examined in, 188–92

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 49, 141

  May, Brian, 286

  McBride, Arthur, 201

  McCain, John, 143, 341

  McCarthy, Cormac, Of Whales and Men, 195

  McNally, Patrick, 284

  McVay, Hella, 225

  McVay, Scott, 226

  “The Last of the Great Whales,” 224–25

  Mead, Jim:

  and Cuvier’s beaked whales, 7, 103

  “Historical Mass Mortalities of Ziphiids,” 252–53, 254–55, 256, 299

  and necropsies, 221

  professional reputation of, 252, 253–54

  and Smithsonian, 250–54

  melon-headed whales:

  panicked in Kauai during Navy exercises (2004), 308, 319, 339

  stranded on Madagascar (2008), 351

  Mexico:

  environmental protection absent in, 93

  grassroots support in, 97

  and Mitsubishi, 94, 95, 97

  MGM, 207

  midfrequency sonar lawsuit (2006), 317–47

  decision to sue, 315–16, 319, 321

  discovery motions, 318, 345

  dissenting opinion in, 343

  endgame, 341–47

  exemption issued to Navy, 326

  female judges standing up to US Navy, 343

  and future battle lines, 345–46

  majority opinion in, 342, 345, 347

  and national security, 323–24, 326, 334, 338, 339, 342

  Navy actions off California coast, 321–22

  Navy proceeding without safeguards, 321–22

  and NRDC v. Winter, 328, 330–34, 336–40, 382–83n3

  oral arguments, 336–40

  and Pacific Fleet exercises, 319–23

  politics dictating results in, 345

  preliminary injunction against Navy, 322, 324, 327, 342

  preliminary settlements in, 319–21

  and the president, 347

  public interest ruling of, 343

  and right of judicial review, 326

  and separation of powers, 326–27

  settlement negotiations in, 345–47

  Supreme Court appeal, 327–28

  as war of attrition, 321–22

  White House strategy meeting, 325–27

  Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 307

  mining, threats to environment from, 349–50

  minke whales:

  migration of, 344

  panicked by Navy sonar (2003), 309

  stranded (2000), 13, 18

  Mitsubishi Corporation:

  consumer boycott of, 96–97

  saltworks planned by, 93–97

  Mitsubishi Group, 94

  Mitsubishi Trust, 93

  Moby Doll (orca), 212, 214

  Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, 165, 167

  Morgan (pilot whale), 237–38

  Morgan, J. P., 60

  Morrison & Foerster, 287, 293, 295–96

  Mothers for Peace, 85, 368n1

  Mullen, Mike, 317–18, 323

  Munk, Walter, 154–61, 202–3

  and Acoustic Thermometry, 164–69, 171, 175, 373n14

  and acoustic tomography, 156–57

  and climate change, 157, 167

  in Cold War, 155–56

  and Heard Island, 158–61, 159, 163, 166–67, 372n13

  and the Jasons, 155–57, 314

  and Magellan II, 169, 170, 173

  and Navy research, 232, 314, 372–73n13

  and Pittenger, 157–61, 171

  and sonar causation of mass beachings, 314

  “wind-driven gyres” of, 155, 370n5

  in World War II, 154–55

  Namu (orca), 214–15

  Namu Inc., 215–16, 237

  Namu the Killer Whale (movie), 215

  Nancy’s Restaurant, marine mammal bodies stored in freezer of, 23, 32

  Nantucket Island, sperm whale stranded on, 102–3

  Narwhal (Monodon monoceras), 210

  NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), 206, 234

  Nassau Tribune, 100

  National Aquarium, Baltimore, 104

  National Environmental Policy Act, 172, 301–2, 320, 322, 325–26, 382n1

  National Geographic, 225

  National Institutes of Health (NIH), 39, 203–4

  National Marine Fisheries Service, see Fisheries

  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, see NOAA

  National Research Council, 314

  National Science Foundation, 161, 206, 208

  National Stranding Response Network, 70

  NATO:

  and Bosnian Civil War, 138

  naval exercises of, 18

  and other “unusual” strandings, 72

  and US Navy, 138

  and whale strandings in Canaries, 71, 72, 293–94, 308

  and whale strandings in Greece (1996), 18, 71–72, 111, 178

  and whale strandings in Madeira (2000), 254

  Natter, Robert, 137, 138, 139–40, 147

  Natural Resources Defense Council, see NRDC

  Nature, 178, 252

  Naval Research Lab, 141

  Naval Undersea Warfare Center, 19

  Navy, US, see US Navy

  Nelson, Cal, 35

  Newman, Murray, 212, 214, 227

  New York Times, 242, 293, 331

  New York Zoological Society, 225

  Nichols, George, 60

  Nichols, Mike, 239

  Nishiwaki, Masaharu, 40, 41

  Nixon, Richard M., 120, 147

  NOAA:

  and administration change, 346

  and climate change, 160

  and Fisheries, 162–63, 284

  and Heard Island, 161

  and noise pollution in oceans, 372n13

  and public relations, 267

  and White House strategy meeting, 325

  Noise Pollution and Abatement Act (1972), 287–88

  Norfolk, Virginia, Fleet Cammand in, 131, 140

  Norris, Kenneth, 202, 256–57, 264, 379n1

  North Atlantic gray whales, hunted to extinction, 92

  North Atlantic right whales:

  as endangered species, 77

  migration of, 76

  ship collisions with, 76–77

  Northern Bottle-nosed Dolphin (Tursipos truncatus), 307

  northern bottlenose whales:

  (Hyperoödon rostratus), 126

  of Nova Scotia, 63

  Northern Right-Whale Dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis), 269

  Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, 320

  NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), 81–83

  and Acoustic Thermometry, 167–68

  and Bahamas stranding, 97–99, 151, 283, 285–90

  beginnings of, 82

  corporate polluters targeted by, 82–83, 375n4

  critics of, 321

  environmental campaigns of, 95–97, 307–8

  and environmental law, 82–83, 287, 327

  and Fisheries, 172, 352

  Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by, 308

  funding sources of, 96

  and future actions, 343, 345

  and Humane Society, 114–15

  and lawsuits against Navy, 287–90, 292–93, 304, 308, 314, 315–16, 321–23, 352, 382n2

  and Magellan II, 171, 174–75

  Marine Mammal Protection Project, 81, 87, 350

  media attention to, 96, 151, 287, 308, 321, 331

  and midfrequency sonar lawsuit, 318, 319–24

  mission of, 286

  and Mitsubishi, 93–97

  and Navy, 98, 113–16, 121–25, 136, 149, 172–73, 177, 285–90, 313–16, 320–23, 326–28, 346, 351–52

  NRDC v. Winter, 328, 330–34, 336–4
0, 342–45

  and nuclear nonproliferation project, 167

  and Office Depot, 177

  and Patriot Act, 285

  and press conferences, 222, 231, 343

  recruiting partners, 307–8

  reputation of, 177

  and RIMPAC lawsuit, 382n2

  and Scripps, 168–69

  and settlement mediation, 303–6, 320–21, 324

  and sonar hearing (2002), 297–306

  Sounding the Depths, 179–80

  staffing of, 87–88

  and Vieques dumping, 139

  whale issues in, 87, 88, 176

  NRDC v. Winter, 328, 330–34, 336–40, 342–45

  nuclear bomb tests, 227

  Obama, Barack, 341, 345, 347

  Ocean Beach, Tasmania, mass strandings on, 69

  Ocean Bird, 91

  Ocean Futures Society, 315, 382n2

  oceans:

  acoustic tomography in, 156–57, 158, 161

  and climate change, 157, 158, 160, 161

  Cold War research in, 17, 155–56, 156, 365n3

  control of, 46

  “death by debris,” 168

  detonating explosives in, 48, 288

  hydrostatic pressure in, 28, 31

  industrial shipping in, 179, 180

  inner space of, 234–35

  internal wave gradients of, 159

  midnight zone of, 26

  Navy demand for unlimited access to, 287, 289, 300, 304–6, 351–52

  pollution of, 168, 288, 350

  ripples on, 370n5

  sea battles in war, 198

  sonogram of, 161

  sound pressure waves in, 171–72, 179, 277–78, 288–89, 350; see also sonar

  storms and waves, 369–70n3

  sunlight zone of, 26

  temperature of, 157, 158, 159

  twilight zone of, 26

  underwater sound in, 48–49, 179–80, 193, 350

  underwater storm systems, 154–55, 156

  Office Depot, 177

  Office of Naval Research (ONR), 14–19

  and acoustic research, 366–67n9, 367n10

  and Acoustic Thermometry, 166, 373n14

  and active sonar, 153–54

  animal behavior research, 199, 201–2

  and Bahamas investigation, 74–75, 81, 98, 231

  and Bahamas strandings, 152

  budget of, 74

  and climate change, 162

  and Cory Chouest, 160, 162, 373n15

  creation of, 17

  dolphin research of, 201–2, 206–7

  Environmental Impact Statement, 174–75

  Fisheries permits issued to, 98, 147, 162, 175, 305

  and Gaffney, 140–42, 147, 151, 265

  and Gisiner, 14, 16, 17, 131

  and Heard Island, 161–62, 372n13

  inappropriate collaboration on permits, 305, 306

  Littoral Warfare tests, 141

  and Magellan II, 174–75

  marine mammal division, 17, 138

  and media stories, 130–33

  oceanographic research in, 17, 244

  plausible deniability of, 150

  size and scope of, 17, 74

  sonobuoy testing by, 107, 141, 150

  and SOSUS, 49, 153

  study of sonar impact on whales, 175, 346, 350

  tagging expeditions funded by, 312–13

  weapons testing by, 113–14, 141

  and Whales ’93, 367n10, 373n15

  and whale strandings in Greece (1996), 18, 147

  and Woods Hole labs, 49, 71

  oil and gas industry:

  political backers of, 180

  seismic surveys by, 375n4

  underseas exploration by, 134

  underwater noise pollution from, 179–80

  whales stranded by sonar of, 351

  Olmos, Edward James, 139

  Operation Quickfind, 237

  OrcaLab, 227

  Orca Network, 347

  ORCA—Observed Response of Cetaceans to Acoustics, 372n12

  orcas:

  (Orcinus orca), xi, 212, 213n, 221

  and animal rights movement, 223

  Balcomb’s surveys of, 4, 16, 60, 101, 210–11, 217–19, 220, 223, 229, 257, 308–9, 347

  Blackfish documentary about, 352

  echolocation by, 212

  “endangered” designation of, 312, 350

  as entertainers, 212, 214–17

  hunting by, 69, 213

  J Pod, 210–11, 218, 221, 230, 309, 353–54

  K and L Pods, 210, 218

  as killer whales, 213, 221

  matrilineal society of, 220

  media stories about, 214

  migration of, 210, 269

  panicked by Navy sonar (2003), 309–11

  populations of, 212, 213, 218, 311–12, 350, 354

  protection of, 312, 350

  research without interference, 227

  social complexity of, 220

  Southern Resident Community of, 210–12, 213–14, 216, 218, 220, 308–12

  surveys funded by Fisheries, 217–19, 353, 354

  as toothed whales, 27

  toxin concentrations in, 311–12

  vocalizations of, 212, 227

  and whale-watching trips, 220

  wild captures of, 212, 214–17, 218, 237, 288, 311

  O’Regan, Fred, 306, 315

  Outer Banks, whales stranded in (2005), 308

  owls:

  acute night vision of, 224

  spotted, 117

  Paar, Jack, 207

  Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), 85–86, 290

  Pacific Northwest:

  as home to orca pods, 210–12, 213–14, 218, 308–11

  marine mammals panicked by Navy exercises in (2003), 308–11, 313

  orcas captured in, 212, 214–17, 218, 237, 288, 311

  orca surveys in, 4, 16, 60, 101, 210–12, 217–20, 229, 257, 308–9, 347

  spotted owl defense in, 117

  whale research in, 4, 16, 211

  Parsons, Chris, 114, 336

  Patriot Act, 285

  Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, 333, 340

  Payne, Katy, 225, 374n17

  Payne, Roger, 96, 174, 224–26, 367n10, 374n17

  PCBs, 312

  Peale’s Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus australis), 341

  Pebble Mine, Alaska, 349–50

  Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute, 71–72

  Pentagon Papers, 371n6

  Persian Gulf:

  dolphins clearing mines in, 242

  Navy action in, 114, 139, 271, 286

  war games in preparation for, 275

  and War on Terror, 285–86

  PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), 286

  pigeons:

  Navy work with, 16

  in warfare, 200, 376n3

  Pigmy Sperm Whale (Kogia breviceps), 113

  Piked or Lesser Rorqual (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), 68

  pilot whales:

  (Globiocephalus melas), 244

  Navy work with, 16

  social bonds of, 69

  pinnipeds, 16

  Pirie, Robert Jr., 137–38, 140, 149

  Pittenger, Dick, 142–46

  and Antisubmarine Warfare Division, 154, 156

  and conference call, 142, 145, 147–49

  and LFA sonar, 153

  and Magellan tests, 171

  and midfrequency sonar, 143, 145–46, 314

  on military preparedness, 147–48

  and Munk, 157–61, 171

  and Supreme Court, 327

  at Woods Hole, 142, 144, 145

  Pliny the Elder, 212

  Pliny the Younger, 1

  Ponce de León, 370n5

  porpoises, stranded by Navy sonar (2003), 309–11

  Potter, Charlie, 108, 251–52

  Powell Cay, stranded dolphin on, 20, 72

  Preston, Stephen, 140

  primates, brain studies of, 203–4
>
  Project Ahab, 227

  Project Arion, 234–35

  Project Artemis, 153

  Project Artichoke, 207

  Project Caesar, 49

  Project Jezebel, 49

  Project Pigeon, 376n3

  Proni, John, 263

  Providence Channel, 132, 139–40, 265, 268, 275–76

  Pygmy Right Whale (Neobalaena marginata), 24

  Pygmy Sperm Whale (Kogia breviceps), 113

  radar, 365n1

  Redford, Robert, 349

  Regina Maris, 60–62, 219, 220

  Reville, Roger, 371n10, 372n13

  Reynolds, Bill, 119

  Reynolds, Joel, 83–88, 178–81

  and Acoustic Thermometry, 165, 166, 167

  and advocacy law, 84, 335, 344, 347, 349–50

  and Bahamas stranding, 97–99, 151, 183, 268, 283, 285–90

  and Balcomb, 352–55

  and Center for Law in the Public Interest, 84, 335

  and Diablo Canyon, 84–87, 181

  early years of, 118–20

  and Exxon seismic surveys, 375n4

  and Fisheries, 165

  and gray whales, 89–91, 95, 97

  and Greek strandings, 178

  lawsuit filed against Fisheries and Navy (2002), 292, 303, 308

  and letter to Navy Secretary (2000), 98, 113, 114–16

  and Magellan II, 169, 170–75

  and media stories, 150–51, 283, 285, 287, 331, 334, 343–44

  and midfrequency sonar case (2006), 313–16, 319–22, 327–28

  and Mitsubishi, 93–97

  and Navy, 115–16, 117–18, 121–25, 152, 165, 167, 174–75, 285–90, 303–6, 313–16, 324, 335, 346

  and NRDC, see NRDC

  and NRDC v. Winter (2007), 327, 328, 330–34, 336–37, 339–40, 342–45

  preparation for lawsuits, 287–93, 295–97, 329

  and press conference, 222, 248–50

  saving the planet, 95, 119, 182

  seeing blue, 117–18

  and settlement negotiations (2002), 303–6; (2007), 324; (2008), 345–46

  and sonar hearing (2002), 297–306

  and Stringfellow Acid Pits (1980s), 330

  and Supreme Court, 329–30

  Reynolds, Linda, 181

  Reynolds, Mary Lee, 118, 119

  Reynolds, Sam, 336

  Reynolds, Susan, 181–82, 335

  Rice, Dale, 40, 41, 42

  Richmond whaling station, 41–42

  Richter scale, 171

  Ridgway, Sam Houston, 178

  and bionic drones, 240, 242

  and dolphins in captivity, 234–35, 236, 240, 264

  and Handbook of Marine Mammals, 123

  and Navy-Fisheries strategy meeting, 264, 266

  and Navy’s Marine Mammal Training Program, 123, 235, 311

  and orcas in captivity, 237

  and “safety threshold” for hearing loss, 264, 266

  and settlement meeting, 123

  and Shoup maneuvers, 311

  right whales, 76–77

  as endangered species, 77, 344

  migration of, 344

  RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific Exercise), 381n1, 382n2

  Ripley, S. Dillon, 250

 

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