Act Now to Protect Orcas From Oceanic Warfare
Action Alert from All-Creatures.org

FROM NARN Northwest Animal Rights Network
July 2020

ACTION

The alarming decline of endangered West Coast orcas continues.

Despite the fact that only 73 individuals remain and another orca was recently declared missing and presumed dead, the U.S. Navy’s moving forward with a plan for seven years of war games in their habitat. The military’s proposal calls for surface and underwater warfare, explosives and bursts of sonar along the California, Oregon and Washington coasts. We need you to do everything in your power to make sure that doesn’t happen.

 The proposed rule would allow the Navy to harm or harass marine mammals in general nearly two million times over the next seven years.

Call and email the NMFS today and demand they address these issues and help protect our ocean’s precious wildlife.

West Coast Regional Office
Phone: (503) 230-5400

Michael Milstein, Public Affairs Officer, West Coast Regional Office
(503) 231-6268
[email protected]
(206) 526-6150

John Ewald, Director of Public Affairs for NOAA Fisheries, Office of Communications
(301) 427-8029
[email protected]

Jasmine Blackwell, Public Affairs Officer, NOAA Fisheries Public Affairs
(301) 427-8013
[email protected]

INFORMATION

Right now these killer whales are being put in harm’s way by the Navy’s plans to practice warfare in their coastal habitat, from Washington to California. These activities can deafen and kill marine mammals, as well as mask vital sounds needed for communication and feeding. In this case the Navy is seeking a permit to harm and harass these animals up to two million times over the next seven years. What’s more, the proposed rule would allow the Navy to harm or harass marine mammals in general nearly two million times over the next seven years. That’s extreme — and unacceptable.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) should prevent the Navy from disturbing these orcas by requiring mitigation measures and entirely prohibiting testing and training in the Salish Sea and throughout orcas’ proposed critical habitat. NMFS has a duty to protect wildlife, and it should ensure the strictest avoidance and mitigation possible. That means requiring more robust closures to protect important habitats, setting overall limits on the amount of military activities, and implementing better wildlife-monitoring systems than ineffective lookouts.

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Thank you for everything you do for animals!

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