Historic European Parliament Resolution Urges Protection From Sonar

In October 2004, the European Parliament showed its strong support for the need to regulate and reduce this deadly threat to whales by adopting a groundbreaking Resolution on the environmental effects of high-intensity active naval sonars.

An overwhelming majority of MEPs called on the EU Member States to pursue the adoption of moratoriums and restrictions on the use of high-intensity active sonars in naval operations, including within the framework of NATO, to develop alternative technologies and to immediately restrict the use of high-intensity active sonars in waters under their jurisdiction.

Shortly after the adoption of the EP Resolution, delegates from 16 countries meeting in Majorca, Spain adopted a Resolution recognizing man-made ocean noise as a dangerous pollutant which can disturb, injure and even kill whales and other marine species.

Ocean Noise Regulations Desperately Needed

Within the EU’s environmental policy there are no specific measures to tackle or control the adverse effects of noise on marine protected species and other species in European seas. However, some legislative instruments such as the UN Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS), the EU Habitats Directive, and the precautionary principle provide the EU Member States with clear obligations to protect marine living resources from disturbance and pollution from energy sources.

The stakeholders of the EU Marine Strategy also decided at a meeting in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to integrate ocean noise into the upcoming Proposal of the European Commission on the EU Marine Strategy.

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European Parliament Resolution on Active Sonar

Among the most dramatic environmental impacts associated with high-intensity military sonar is the mass stranding of whales.
Photo © IFAW