Minister ‘concerned’ at potential impacts of Russian military sonar on marine wildlife

Minister of State Malcolm Noonan has expressed concern over the potential environmental impact that the Russian military exercises may have on the seas around Ireland.

The military drills are set to take place in international waters 240 km off the southwest coast next month.

The Russian ambassador to Ireland, Yuri Filatov, said that the drill will be “a small exercise, maybe three or four ships, not more.”

However, Minister Noonan said he has written to Ambassador Filatov to express his concerns.

“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.

“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.”