WASHINGTON (CN)- The U.S. Navy has asked the National Marine Fisheries Service for permission to harass 33 species of whale, including eight listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, that might pass through the Navy's Cherry Point Range Complex off the coast of the Carolinas, during Navy live-fire exercises over the next five years.
According to its petition, the Navy expects that two marine mammals will be significantly disturbed, to the point of having their normal behavioral patters permanently disrupted, mostly by underwater explosions. The Navy states that its sonar, ordinance and vessel operations disturb marine mammals at least 2 million times a year.
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