A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Navy from deploying a new high-frequency sonar system amid concern it could endanger whales and other animals.
Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte, however, said Thursday that the Navy may use the sonar to detect enemy submarines during war and must be allowed to train with it.
She ordered both sides back to court Nov. 7 to begin work on a compromise.
The case stems from a lawsuit by the Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental organizations that sought to stop the Navy from training in most of the world’s waters with a powerful sonar system the groups maintain can harm marine mammals.
“It is undisputed that marine mammals, many of whom depend on sensitive hearing for essential activities like finding food and mates and avoiding predators, and some of whom are endangered species, will at a minimum be harassed by the extremely loud and far-traveling … sonar,” Laporte wrote.
However, she said the Navy showed the technology “is likely to significantly increase our ability to timely detect very quiet submarines.”
