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Southern Resident whales

Ambitious plan to free captive orca Lolita announced

The new owner of the Miami Seaquarium in the US has announced that it is...
Gray whale

UN adopts High Seas Treaty to protect the ocean

At the UN 'High Seas Treaty' negotiations in New York, a historic vote for the...

Hopes raised for whale and dolphin protection after last minute landmark nature agreement

WDC's Ed Goodall (far right) at COP15 with Thérèse Coffey (centre) UK Secretary of State...

WDC orca champion picks up award

Beatrice Whishart MSP picks up her Nature Champion award The Scottish Environment LINK, an organisation...

Newer sonar technology still a threat to whales

A magical sperm whale encounter

A study into the effects of underwater sonar has revealed that newer technology is as disruptive to whales as sonar used by the military.

Researchers at St Andrews University in Scotland, led by Professor Patrick Miller, compared experiments on continuous sonar near Norway undertaken previously with new data from the new, continuous sonar.

Continuous sonar pulses are transmitted at lower level and spread out over longer duration. It had been suggested that this newer technology might less disruptive for whales. But the impact of the two sonar systems on feeding behaviour of the sperm whales that they observed was similar. The whales stopped foraging for food no matter which type of sonar was used.

Underwater noise pollution from the military, oil and gas exploration is a threat to whales and dolphins because they live in a world of sound and rely on it for catching prey, communicating and navigation. Any human noise in the water can have a serious effect on whales and dolphins and can cause death.

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