White Whale 'Migaloo' faces possible death with war game sonar

MEDIA RELEASE
June 26, 2007

Filmmaker and whale/peace activist, Dean Jefferys, who just returned from a week of peace protests at Shoalwater Bay says, "THE WHITE WHALE "MIGALOO" FACES POSSIBLE DEATH BY SONAR at the Talisman Sabre war games now occurring in central Queensland".

TV news tonight (26-7-07) shows the white whale Migaloo today passing the Heron Islands just south of where 30,000 soldiers are training at Shoalwater bay and may swim into this area tomorrow or the next day. The US military have said they plan to use Low frequency active sonar from their nuclear submarines. Earlier this month at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Alaska delegates released a report condemning the use of military sonar in the Great Barrier Reef marine park and its dangerous effects on whales and dolphins as part of the Talisman Sabre 07 U.S.

Dean Jefferys said "Low frequency active sonar, the type used by U.S. submarines, is a known cause of whale and dolphin beachings. Scientists are so sure that active sonar kills cetaceans that they have banned the use of sonar in the oceans off Hawaii. Even the U.S. navy admit that sonar causes beachings and whale deaths. I would hate to see Migaloo the icon of the humpback migration wash ashore dead at Shoalwater Bay. This sonar is dangerous and potentially lethal to whales and all cetaceans. I am asking the US military as a matter of extreme urgency to stop all use of active sonar in this sensitive marine ecosystem."

Environmental spokesperson for the Peace Convergence Kim Stewart, says, "Sonar causes the animals to panic, surface too quickly and get “the bends”, brain hemorrhages and cause them to become disoriented and hence beach themselves. Sonar is also known to affect other species such a s turtles and fish, reducing the fertility of their eggs and resonating in fish swim bladders causing internal injuries.”

“The military are telling us that sonar does not travel far from it’s
source, so they can monitor the presence of cetaceans. However, active sonar can travel hundreds of kilometres, making monitoring unlikely.”

“The military are giving the public assurances that their activities in the Great Barrier Reef will not harm the environment. But the fact is, they cannot avoid it. The everyday munitions and maintainence chemicals contain contaminants including heavy metals and perchlorate and are known to harm the environment. The military’s Public Environment Report has basically ignored the concerns of environmentalists on this issue,” says Ms Stewart.

Media contact/interviews: Dean Jefferys 02 66840002 or Kim Stewart 0413 397 839