A judge in San Francisco has approved an agreement between environmentalists and the US Navy on the use of military sonar.

Whale fans have been arguing for years that military sonars harm and even kill whales, although the evidence has been far from totally conclusive (see this recent news story).

Now the navy has agreed to limit use of low-frequency sonar to military training areas and there will also be seasonal exclusions in some areas. This wraps up a rumbling court case between the navy and groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“We don’t have to choose between national security and protecting the environment,” says Michael Jasny, an NRDC policy analyst (press release). “Today’s agreement maintains the Navy’s ability to test and train, while shielding whales and other vulnerable species from harmful underwater noise.”

A Navy spokesman at the Pentagon says, via the LA Times, “We get some areas to train and they get some areas that are off-limits.”

More coverage

Navy Agrees to Sonar System Restriction – AP

Navy agrees to sonar curbs to protect whales – SF Chronicle

Image: Los Angeles-class submarine / US Navy photo by Paul Farley