026 - Establishment of a mid-frequency active (MFA – 1 to 10 KHz) sonar moratorium for maritime military exercises conducted in Macaronesia

026 - Establishment of a mid-frequency active (MFA – 1 to 10 KHz) sonar moratorium for maritime military exercises conducted in Macaronesia

Latest version in this language: Version for electronic vote | Published on: 30 Sep 2021

EMPHASISING that healthy whale populations help to maintain necessary ocean balance by providing ecological services such as keeping fish stocks healthy, cycling nutrients and minimising the effects of climate change;

RECOGNISING that Macaronesia is a cetacean biodiversity hot spot, which hosts 85% of the whale and dolphin species described in the North Atlantic Ocean;

RECALLING its strategic geographical location, crossed by the migratory paths of the great whales, travelling between the tropical waters of the Central-Western Atlantic and feeding grounds in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Arctic Ocean;

RECALLING that, pursuant to Article 65 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal states have the right and the duty to ensure the protection of their cetacean species;

NOTING that the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), in its report to the 56th meeting of the IWC (Sorrento, 2004), concluded that military sonar, seismic exploration, and other noise sources such as shipping, pose a significant and increasing threat to cetaceans, both acute and chronic;

CONCERNED about the substantive and growing body of corroborating scientific evidence suggesting that a wide range of whale, dolphin and porpoise species can be impacted by the sound produced during military activities;

RECALLING that Resolution 3.068 Undersea noise pollution (Bangkok, 2004) requested the Director General “to identify and implement measures to promote among world governments the reduction of anthropogenic ocean noise”;

NOTING ALSO that non-binding resolution B6-0089/2004 of the European Parliament recommended European Union Member States to immediately restrict the use of active naval sonars in their jurisdictional waters, and that in 2016, the IWC Scientific Committee recognised that mitigating impact of noise on cetaceans is a way to increase populations’ resilience and improve their future prospects in the face of less tractable stressors, such as climate change;

MINDFUL that scientific evidence supports the effectiveness of the moratorium on the use of mid-frequency active (MFA – which for the purposes of this motion is defined as 1 to 10 KHz) sonar in maritime military exercises around the Canary Islands for avoiding atypical mass strandings of beaked whales; and

NOTING ALSO that maritime military exercises refer to those involving naval ships and military aircraft capable of employing MFA sonobuoys or dipping sonars, and do not include security operations;

The IUCN World Conservation Congress, at its session in Marseille, France:

1. CALLS ON all states with Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) in the Macaronesian region to:

a. support the establishment of an MFA sonar moratorium during maritime military exercises, involving naval ships and military aircraft capable of employing MFA sonobuoys or dipping sonars, conducted within their EEZs; and

b. ban the use of this high-energy sonar in maritime military exercises within the limits of their EEZs; and

2. REQUESTS the Director General to convey this Resolution to all states with EEZs in the region, as well as to the European Parliament.

Recent reviews of mitigation measures to minimize impacts of high intensity sound sources, for both seismic surveys conducted during oil and gas development and military activities, have been critical of the standard methods (which tend to rely on visual observers) as being inadequate, concluding that they cannot prevent cetaceans from being affected by sound. An effective method to protect the cetaceans from the behavioral changes triggered by exposure to sonar sounds would reduce the appearance of the unusual “bubble” lesions described in beaked whales.

In September 2002, fourteen beaked whales from three different species stranded in the Canary Islands during an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the area. In July 2004, at least four beaked whales died after an international naval exercise. Four other mass strandings, all associated with naval activity, struck the islands in the years before. This situation motivated a non-binding resolution of the European Parliament in 2004 (B6-0089/2004), calling its Member States to adopt a moratorium on the deployment of high-intensity active naval sonars until a global assessment of their cumulative environmental impact on marine mammals, fish and other marine life was completed. The same resolution also recommended the Member States to immediately restrict the use of high-intensity active naval sonars in waters falling under their jurisdiction.

The unusual ‘‘bubble’’ lesions discovered in several of the beaked whales that stranded during military exercises near the Canary Islands were similar to those found in cases of decompression sickness. It was subsequently postulated that these whales might have unusually high levels of dissolved nitrogen in their blood and that rapid ascent as a result of behavioral changes triggered by exposure to sonar sounds might cause ‘‘bends’’-like lesions. The bubble lesions might therefore arise if animals are forced to or near the surface for an extended period, or into very shallow water. In short, the studies suggest that the lesions may result ‘‘from an abnormal behavioral response to sonar’’, possibly as the result of beaked whales exhibiting an ‘‘anti-predator’’ avoidance response when exposed to sonar noise.

Following this recommendation, the Spanish government passed a moratorium on naval sonar in the Canary Islands in November 2004, banning its use within 50 nautical miles of its jurisdictional waters. During the 14 years that have passed since the moratorium was put in place, there have been no atypical mass strandings in the Canary Islands, probing its effectiveness as a mitigation measure.

In order to protect one of the most important areas for the cetaceans in the North Atlantic, all the countries and regions of the Macaronesia must be encouraged to adopt the mid-frequency active (MFA) sonar moratorium on their EEZs in order to extend the positive effects that the moratorium had on the cetacean populations of the Canary Islands.

Madeira and Azores and the Canary Islands, as EU territories are directly concerned by the B6-0089/2004 resolution of the European Parliament and their willingness to set up a MFA sonar moratorium in their EZZs would mean the protection of over 40% of the Macaronesian Region.

Expanding the MFA sonar moratorium to all the rest of the countries in the region would mean an effective protection of over 3,5 Million square km, which represents 85% of this biodiversity hotspot for cetaceans.


  • Asociación Guyra Paraguay Conservación de Aves [Paraguay]
  • Asociación Herpetológica Española [Spain]
  • Centro de Extensión Universitaria e Divulgación Ambiental de Galicia [Spain]
  • European Association of Zoos and Aquaria [The Netherlands]
  • Fundación Biodiversidad [Spain]
  • Loro Parque Fundación [Spain]
  • PROVITA [Venezuela]
  • Sociedad Española para la Defensa del Patrimonio Geológico y Minero [Spain]
  • Vice Consejería Sostenibilidad Ambiental, Gobierno Vasco [Spain]

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