The Port of Anchorage has been given the green light by the National Marine Fisheries Service to continue an expansion project in the habitat of critically endangered Cook Inlet Beluga Whales.
A Port of Anchorage construction project will be using underwater pile drivers and chipping hammers in waters frequented by the critically endangered Cook Inlet Beluga Whales. The National Marine Fisheries Service has determined that the whales would not experience long-term adverse affects form the noise generated by underwater activity.
Regulations require that work must stop if a whale is spotted within a certain distance. Unfortunately, new regulations have reduced the distance required for stopping work to just 200 meters, although when the project started, the distance was 1,300 meters.
According to Marine Issues Field Director for the HSUS, Sharon Young, the NMFS has underestimated the “impact of chronic noise on marine mammals over time.” She points out in the same article that even if behavioral changes have not been shown so far by the whales, it is inconclusive to assume they are not suffering from adverse effects, such as stress.
“Incidental take”
The Port of Anchorage has applied for an “incidental take” permit:
The Port has applied for this permit due to the possibility of an incidental take caused by noise or vibration during construction.
Here is what the NOAA Fisheries website has under “take” in their glossary:
Defined under the MMPA as “harass, hunt, capture, kill or collect, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture, kill or collect.”
Defined under the ESA as “to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.”
If they could speak for themselves, what do you suppose the whales would say about “incidental take”?
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevensnodgrass/ / CC BY 2.0
About Rhishja Cota-Larson
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