NAVAL sonar can be used for military exercises in the Pacific, the US Supreme Court ruled yesterday, in a defeat for environmental groups who say the detection system can harm whales.
The court, in its first decision of the current term, voted 5-4 that the US navy needs to conduct realistic training exercises to respond to potential threats by enemy submarines.
Environmental groups persuaded lower federal courts in California t
o impose restrictions on sonar use in submarine-hunting exercises to protect whales and other marine mammals.
The Bush administration argued that there was little evidence of harm to marine life in more than 40 years of exercises in the Pacific.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, which was joined by three other conservative justices and the swing vote of Anthony Kennedy.
The court did not deal with the merits of the claims put forward by the environmental groups. It said that federal courts abused their discretion by ordering the navy to limit sonar use sometimes or to turn it off altogether.
"The most serious possible injury would be harm to an unknown number of the marine mammals," said Mr Roberts. "In contrast, forcing the navy to deploy an inadequately trained anti-submarine force jeopardises the safety of the fleet."
