Whales need to hear each other. It's how they travel the long distances to their mates. Whales and dolphins also need good hearing to locate their food. In a process called echolocation, they send out a sound and listen to how it bounces and echoes. This tells them where the fish are.
So, when sonar blasts and giant ships fill the ocean with noise, the ocean's mammals are threatened with starvation. Thankfully, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a long-term plan for curbing noise pollution and saving sea mammals. But NOAA needs to hear from you during this comment period which continues from now through July. Please join me in asking NOAA to implement its strategy for studying ocean noise, its effect on wildlife, and curbing the damage.
Dear NOAA:
First, thank you for your thoughtful strategy for saving whales and dolphins. It's my understand that the threat of noise pollution may extend far beyond this population of beloved sea mammals. Noise may even threaten seafood species like shrimp. I have every confidence that your proposed research strategy will be able to quantify this terrible threat to marine life and suggest viable ways to save wildlife. I support this plan and hope you will implement it, as do all the people who have signed below.
