In a letter from an official at the Department of Marine Resources, Mrs. Sam Duncombe and Mrs. Margo Blackwell were informed that the “invitation previously extended to you-has to be rescinded.”
Mrs. Duncombe, founder of Re-Earth, told The Bahama Journal last night that while she was disappointed, she was not surprised by the news she received just before 7 p.m. yesterday, as Marine Resources Minister Leslie Miller told MPs in the House of Assembly about the team that would be travelling with him to Andros for the meeting.
Mrs. Duncombe was expecting to travel to Andros today at 8 a.m. Mrs. Blackwell, the director of the Bahamas Environmental Research Centre in Stainard Creek, lives in Andros.
The meeting was called after the death of a second whale in Andros in just over a month sparked calls for a stop to all testing in the Tongue of the Ocean until it could be determined if testing at the U.S. military base on the island had anything to do with the deaths.
Mr. Miller requested the meeting after the discovery of the second dead whale, on Big Wood Cay, and since then a third whale was found dead in the same area, not far from the AUTEC base.
The deaths have become a major issue for Andros residents, whose concerns will not be represented in person at today’s meeting but are being confirmed by environmentalists outside of the country.
According to a U.S. marine mammal expert, the probability is “high” that the recent whale deaths in Andros were related to human-produced noise in the ocean, such as sonar testing.
Dr. Marsha Green, president and founder of the Ocean Mammal Institute, said she had come to that conclusion because of the species involved and the spacing out of the strandings in space and time, and based on data from around the world and conclusions reached by the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission.
Dr. Green was referring to the three whale deaths – a sperm whale and two beaked whales -in Andros since late February, near the AUTEC base on the island.
“The characteristics of noise induced strandings include the species that strands,” Dr. Green, who holds a doctorate in animal behaviour, explained to The Bahama Journal in an interview.
“Beaked whales seem to be the most sensitive to noise but other deep diving whales, such as sperm whales, are also at risk. Other species have also stranded but beaked whales are especially suspicious.”
Dr. Green has been conducting research on the impact of human behaviour on humpback whales and spinner dolphins in Hawaii. She has gained international recognition for her ground breaking studies linking human compassion with scientific field research to benefit whales, dolphins and their environment, according to OMI’s website.
The doctor also pointed out that noise induced strandings usually result in more than one species being involved in the stranding and the strandings are often spread out over time and space.
“That is, not all the bodies strand at the same time. Animals can be injured and swim for days before stranding. Some most likely die at sea,” she said.
However, AUTEC insists that there is no scientific evidence linking its testing to the whale deaths and every effort is taken to protect the marine environment.
Dr. Green made specific note that a Navy commissioned group of experts concluded that “the evidence of sonar causation is, in our opinion, completely convincing and that therefore there is a serious issue of how best to avoid/minimise future beaching events.”
She said that AUTEC should be asked to comply with U.S. law, in terms of getting permits for exercises and in terms of using the best available mitigation procedures to avoid harming marine life.
“It appears that the Navy has not been complying with U.S. law and that has to change,” said Dr. Green. “It also appears that they did not do an Environmental Impact Statement before they developed the shallow water testing range, [located in the Berry Islands].”
As it relates to the effects of ocean noise on humans and other sea life, Dr. Green pointed out that the navy’s own tests of noise exposure to humans showed that one navy diver had serious seizures after the tests.
There were also reports of civilians who were in the water and heard sonar sounds and said their lungs started vibrating and they became disoriented, she said.
According to Dr. Green, impact on other sea life include dolphin strandings, reports from fishermen in England and elsewhere that sonar use decreases their fish catch rate [as does the use of air guns, which has similar intensity to sonar] and giant squid have had exploded organs in an area where air guns are being used.
Dr. Green will be in Nassau on May 22 for a town meeting at the College of The Bahamas, and will hold a second meeting with Andros residents on May 23.
Today’s meeting at AUTEC will also include the ministers of foreign affairs, health and environment, along with representatives of the BEST Commission, and is expected to be followed by a press briefing.
By: Erica Wells, The Bahama Journal
