Kilkenny TD 'deeply concerned' over Russian navy exercise's impact on marine life

Kilkenny's Malcolm Noonan has flagged concerns over Russia conducting military exercises off the Irish Coast for the potential impact of sonar on marine life.

"I am deeply concerned at the news that military exercises are to be conducted by Russia in the deep seas within Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Area," he said in a statement last night.

"While we do not know the nature of these exercises, we do know that underwater sounds such as active military sonar can have devastating consequences for cetaceans including some of our rarest marine mammal species, notably the deep-diving and rarely-seen Blue whale, Sperm whale and beaked whales. It can cause significant disruption to their hearing systems and normal behaviour, and may lead to permanent or even lethal injury. I have written to both Minister Coveney and the Russian Ambassador to express these concerns.

"Ireland’s marine mammals have been the focus of considerable research efforts over the last three decades and the understanding of species occurrence, abundance and distribution has improved markedly in that time. Most recently the ObSERVE project, run jointly by my Department and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, mapped cetaceans through aerial and ship-based surveys over a three year period and across an extensive area of our off-shore waters. The second phase of this project – ObSERVE 2 – is currently ongoing.”